Chapter 10 - The Marauders are born.
Although Peter wanted to hear all about Davey Gudgeon's accident (so he could avoid doing the same thing), Remus was very reluctant to pursue the topic. Instead he asked Sirius and James about their adventures in the castle during the holidays. Sirius happily related to them the stories of their trips to the kitchens, told them about all the strange rooms they'd seen and about the secret passages. Remus was torn between fascination at their discoveries and horror at how easily they could have been caught wandering around the castle every night. "We'll show you, tonight." Sirius muttered to Remus and Peter. Peter whimpered and Remus looked pale and determined, it was almost as though he was reluctant to overrule Sirius.
"Ssh." James had suddenly noticed Snape; he'd been walking past the table and had stopped. He was listening intently. Had he heard? The thought made James feel uncomfortable. He tried to tell Sirius, but he brushed it aside. "He couldn't have heard, I barely heard and I said it."
So it was decided, that night the four of them sat in the common room, waiting until it emptied. James was sitting on his invisibility cloak, chattering with Sirius, ignoring Peter's frightened whimpering and Remus' paler than usual complexion. It took a while for all the stragglers to leave, there were a couple of older students frantically trying to finish a piece of work that they obviously hadn't done over the holiday like they were supposed too. James was feeling edgy, wandering a near deserted castle by night was one thing, but this was going to be harder with everyone back.
Finally the room was empty. James stood up, and trying not to let the others see that he was nervous, he flung the invisibility cloak over them all, and slowly they inched out of the portrait hole and into the hall.
It was hard work under the cloak. The four of them had to move slowly, carefully and quietly (which was hard, considering Peter stood on someone's toes at least once every five minutes). It seemed to take forever to reach the statue. They took the cloak off and James fought back a sigh of relief. He was just preparing to whisper the word that opened up the old crone's hump when he heard soft footsteps; they were very near. James fumbled for the cloak and made to throw it over the four of them. Unfortunately, he only managed to get it over Remus and Peter before the footsteps turned the corner and they found themselves facing Severus Snape.
He was wearing a triumphant expression that twisted his normally ugly face into something extremely hideous. James was the first to regain his composure "Well hello there Severus, this is a pleasant surprise." "Potter," he hissed, "Black, what are you doing here?" "We could ask you the same thing Snape." Sirius almost spat the last word. James was quite alarmed; he didn't think Sirius' voice could possibly contain that much venom. "Well, I believe that Professor McGonagall would be very interested to find her two prize pupils out of bed in the middle of the night." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Ah, she certainly would, almost as interested as she'd be if she found their friend Severus Snape with them." The tone of James' voice was almost identical to Snape's sarcastic hiss. Snape didn't seem to be able to think of a retort to this, he obviously hadn't thought of the possibility of getting himself in trouble too. He opened his mouth to say something, and closed it again. James repressed a laugh as he realised he looked remarkably like a fish. Sirius wasn't so careful, he laughed outright. James shot him a warning look, and he stopped, but it was too late, a figure had just come round the corner. It was Professor Mechante.
The alarm on Snape's face quickly disappeared when he realised it was the head of Slytherin House and was replaced with a smug sort of expression. James had often heard Snape mention that Professor Mechante favoured Slytherin students and he clearly believed this was the proper thing to do.
She looked from one face to the other, a glint in her dark eyes. James thought for a second that it looked like amusement, but then, he realised that was being stupid. They were in huge trouble. There was nothing even remotely amusing about the situation. He felt behind him to see if Remus and Peter were still there. He couldn't feel anything, so he assumed they'd left. Two people from one house could lose enough points between them; he didn't want them to be in trouble too, neither of them handled it very well anyway, and he was not in the mood to deal with Peter's hysterics.
They followed Professor Mechante to her office in silence, she was wearing a long black nightdress, and it made her look no less threatening. She shut the door behind them and motioned for them to sit. She then took a seat behind her desk and looked at them intently, her chin resting on her hands thoughtfully. It was a full minute before she removed her penetrating gaze. James, for one, was relieved. She made him feel more than slightly uncomfortable.
"I could ask you why you were out wandering the corridor in the middle of the night, but I know I would not receive a truthful answer, so as it is late I will save myself the trouble. I will however take 30 points from Gryffindor and 20 from Slytherin for this escapade and all three of you will receive detentions. You will report to Pringle in the trophy room tomorrow night." She dismissed them, and James was sure, that time that he'd seen that glint again. Snape stalked out, he was furious at this complete lack of favouritism. Sirius followed him. James made to leave too, but Mechante called him back,
"Potter, do you think in the future you and your fellow marauders could refrain from being caught wandering the corridors at night, especially by me. As much as I enjoy your little jokes, I may have to tell Min- er Professor McGonagall next time, and I don't really want to be the one to do that. "Er, certainly Professor." James couldn't believe what he was hearing. It seemed Professor Mechante had one of the very special Slytherin traits, a complete lack of loyalty. His first impression had been right, they'd be okay with her, as long as they weren't caught.
James left, amazed and walked silently back to Gryffindor tower with Sirius; they couldn't risk Professor McGonagall catching them out. They slipped back into the tower, (narrowly escaping a lecture from the fat lady) and found Remus and Peter in their dormitory. They listened intently to everything that had happened and none of them could believe James' story about what Mechante had said to him. Sirius looked thoughtful, "Marauders, eh?" He asked. "It has a nice ring to it."
Although Peter wanted to hear all about Davey Gudgeon's accident (so he could avoid doing the same thing), Remus was very reluctant to pursue the topic. Instead he asked Sirius and James about their adventures in the castle during the holidays. Sirius happily related to them the stories of their trips to the kitchens, told them about all the strange rooms they'd seen and about the secret passages. Remus was torn between fascination at their discoveries and horror at how easily they could have been caught wandering around the castle every night. "We'll show you, tonight." Sirius muttered to Remus and Peter. Peter whimpered and Remus looked pale and determined, it was almost as though he was reluctant to overrule Sirius.
"Ssh." James had suddenly noticed Snape; he'd been walking past the table and had stopped. He was listening intently. Had he heard? The thought made James feel uncomfortable. He tried to tell Sirius, but he brushed it aside. "He couldn't have heard, I barely heard and I said it."
So it was decided, that night the four of them sat in the common room, waiting until it emptied. James was sitting on his invisibility cloak, chattering with Sirius, ignoring Peter's frightened whimpering and Remus' paler than usual complexion. It took a while for all the stragglers to leave, there were a couple of older students frantically trying to finish a piece of work that they obviously hadn't done over the holiday like they were supposed too. James was feeling edgy, wandering a near deserted castle by night was one thing, but this was going to be harder with everyone back.
Finally the room was empty. James stood up, and trying not to let the others see that he was nervous, he flung the invisibility cloak over them all, and slowly they inched out of the portrait hole and into the hall.
It was hard work under the cloak. The four of them had to move slowly, carefully and quietly (which was hard, considering Peter stood on someone's toes at least once every five minutes). It seemed to take forever to reach the statue. They took the cloak off and James fought back a sigh of relief. He was just preparing to whisper the word that opened up the old crone's hump when he heard soft footsteps; they were very near. James fumbled for the cloak and made to throw it over the four of them. Unfortunately, he only managed to get it over Remus and Peter before the footsteps turned the corner and they found themselves facing Severus Snape.
He was wearing a triumphant expression that twisted his normally ugly face into something extremely hideous. James was the first to regain his composure "Well hello there Severus, this is a pleasant surprise." "Potter," he hissed, "Black, what are you doing here?" "We could ask you the same thing Snape." Sirius almost spat the last word. James was quite alarmed; he didn't think Sirius' voice could possibly contain that much venom. "Well, I believe that Professor McGonagall would be very interested to find her two prize pupils out of bed in the middle of the night." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Ah, she certainly would, almost as interested as she'd be if she found their friend Severus Snape with them." The tone of James' voice was almost identical to Snape's sarcastic hiss. Snape didn't seem to be able to think of a retort to this, he obviously hadn't thought of the possibility of getting himself in trouble too. He opened his mouth to say something, and closed it again. James repressed a laugh as he realised he looked remarkably like a fish. Sirius wasn't so careful, he laughed outright. James shot him a warning look, and he stopped, but it was too late, a figure had just come round the corner. It was Professor Mechante.
The alarm on Snape's face quickly disappeared when he realised it was the head of Slytherin House and was replaced with a smug sort of expression. James had often heard Snape mention that Professor Mechante favoured Slytherin students and he clearly believed this was the proper thing to do.
She looked from one face to the other, a glint in her dark eyes. James thought for a second that it looked like amusement, but then, he realised that was being stupid. They were in huge trouble. There was nothing even remotely amusing about the situation. He felt behind him to see if Remus and Peter were still there. He couldn't feel anything, so he assumed they'd left. Two people from one house could lose enough points between them; he didn't want them to be in trouble too, neither of them handled it very well anyway, and he was not in the mood to deal with Peter's hysterics.
They followed Professor Mechante to her office in silence, she was wearing a long black nightdress, and it made her look no less threatening. She shut the door behind them and motioned for them to sit. She then took a seat behind her desk and looked at them intently, her chin resting on her hands thoughtfully. It was a full minute before she removed her penetrating gaze. James, for one, was relieved. She made him feel more than slightly uncomfortable.
"I could ask you why you were out wandering the corridor in the middle of the night, but I know I would not receive a truthful answer, so as it is late I will save myself the trouble. I will however take 30 points from Gryffindor and 20 from Slytherin for this escapade and all three of you will receive detentions. You will report to Pringle in the trophy room tomorrow night." She dismissed them, and James was sure, that time that he'd seen that glint again. Snape stalked out, he was furious at this complete lack of favouritism. Sirius followed him. James made to leave too, but Mechante called him back,
"Potter, do you think in the future you and your fellow marauders could refrain from being caught wandering the corridors at night, especially by me. As much as I enjoy your little jokes, I may have to tell Min- er Professor McGonagall next time, and I don't really want to be the one to do that. "Er, certainly Professor." James couldn't believe what he was hearing. It seemed Professor Mechante had one of the very special Slytherin traits, a complete lack of loyalty. His first impression had been right, they'd be okay with her, as long as they weren't caught.
James left, amazed and walked silently back to Gryffindor tower with Sirius; they couldn't risk Professor McGonagall catching them out. They slipped back into the tower, (narrowly escaping a lecture from the fat lady) and found Remus and Peter in their dormitory. They listened intently to everything that had happened and none of them could believe James' story about what Mechante had said to him. Sirius looked thoughtful, "Marauders, eh?" He asked. "It has a nice ring to it."