Saturday morning dawned, cloudy but calm. James had quidditch
practice in the morning, so when Sirius woke up, he was already gone. He
padded across the room, and prodded Remus in the shoulder.
'Ray!' He hissed, 'get up! I take it you don't have to go to your mother after all?'
Remus opened his eyes, then squeezed them shut again and groaned. 'What're you talking about?' He asked, yawning widely, 'what did you say about my Mum?'
'I said it looks like you'll be able to come with us tonight', Sirius repeated impatiently.
Remus went red, and swallowed hard. 'Umm, I might be leaving this evening', he replied hesitantly, 'so I'm still not sure whether I'll be able to come.'
Sirius eyed his friend closely, then shrugged. 'Fair enough. You coming to breakfast?'
Sirius and Remus were about to get up from the table, when James staggered in, red and perspiring, clutching his broom in his hand.
'What's the matter, Potter?' Lucius Malfoy called from the Slytherin table, 'quidditch too tough for you to handle? I always thought you looked like a wimp.'
'He's a prefect!' Remus looked aghast, 'he can't say stuff like that!'
James glared at the Slytherins, and collapsed onto the bench next to Sirius. 'You two ready for tonight?' He asked in a low voice, wiping his forehead with a napkin.
'What're you up to tonight?' the rest of the quidditch team had entered, and Adam had overheard James' question.
'Nothing', James replied nonchalantly, 'just gonna ask Madam Pince to let us have a look in the Restricted Section of the library.'
'You've got no chance', Adam replied, raising an eyebrow, 'you're only puny first years. James, Paul said to remind you we've got practice on Monday morning at seven o'clock.'
James groaned, and banged his head off the table. Adam stole a slice of toast from Sirius, waved cheekily, and sauntered out of the Great Hall.
'Why is Paul torturing us like this?' James moaned, 'I can't stand all this practice. I don't need it!'
'Arrogant little git.'
Sirius, Remus and James all twisted around in their seats to see who had spoken. Sirius sighed. It was Narcissa. She bent down to James, and narrowed her eyes. 'Because of you and your stupid little friends, I've had a warning. I only have one more chance before they give the job of Head Girl to someone else.'
James smirked. 'That's not our problem.'
Narcissa looked like she might hit him, and James instinctively ducked. But the Head Girl swept past them, and sat down beside Lucius, muttering darkly into his ear.
'Are you sure you're related to her?' Remus asked Sirius, shaking his head in disbelief.
'Give me Narcissa over Bellatrix any day', Sirius replied grimly, 'that girl is the spawn of Satan or something.'
The clock struck midnight in the Gryffindor tower. It was pitch black outside, and all the Gryffindors were trailing off to bed. Only Adam Fowler, Julia Cleansweep and a few other fifth years remained, apart from Sirius and James.
'Come on', James breathed, willing the fifth years to leave, 'come on, Adam, get up...'
Sirius and James had agreed to stay and make sure everyone had gone to bed, before fetching Peter and Remus from the dormitory. James was tapping his foot impatiently, and chewing his finger nails, staring at the fifth years. Sirius was trying to act cool, lounging in an over-stuffed armchair, occasionally glancing at the clock, then at the group of fifth years. At last, at five minutes to one, Adam and his friends got up to leave.
'Night, James...Sirius', he called, yawning, 'you should be in bed-ickle first years, it's way past your bedtime.' And he flashed them a grin, before trudging up the stairs.
Sirius and James waited until they were sure all the boys had had time to get to their dormitories, and then leapt up. They hurried to their own dormitory, where they found Peter sitting up in bed, desperately trying to stay awake.
'There you are!' He hissed, 'it's about time!'
James looked around. 'Where's Remus?' He asked, puzzled.
'He never came up here', Peter said, shrugging, 'must've gone to visit his mum I s'pose.'
'It's a bit late for him to leave, isn't it?' Sirius said doubtfully, 'Saturday evening? I mean, he doesn't live very near, and he'll have to be back by tomorrow night!'
'Oh, come on, don't worry about him, he can come the next time!' James held the cloak up and admired it. 'It'll fit better with three anyway. Come on you two!'
James wrapped the cloak around himself and his two friends, and they cerpt out of the dormitory, and out of the common room.
'Let's go down to the Great Hall, and start there.' James hissed into Sirius' ear.
'What exactly are we looking for?' Sirius breathed.
'Any secret passages, or hidden doors. Like I said before, Adam says the school is full of them.' James was practically running on tip-toe, so Peter and Sirius had to speed up, if they wanted to remain covered by the cloak.
They reached the Great Hall without meeting Mrs Norris or Filch, the caretaker. James sealed the doors behind them with a simple Sealing Spell, and threw the cloak aside. 'We'll hear anyone who tries to get in', he assured his friends.
The trio began to pace around the huge room. Sirius ran his hands along the wall, feeling for any irregularities in its structure. Peter gently tapped the walls, searching for a hollow spot, and James whispered basic spells for opening doors and windows, pointing his wand at various sections of the walls.
'The Amulet...'
Sirius leapt a foot in the air, and bit his lip hard to prevent himself from shouting. Neither Peter nor James had noticed. He turned his head this way and that, trying to catch the voice again. Silence greeted his ears.
He had heard a voice-that same pleading voice of his dream-and again, it had spoken of an amulet.
'Please...you can hear me, boy, please help me...'
Sirius felt a shiver run down his spine. 'Where are you?' He hissed back.
James and Peter both stopped what they were doing and stared at him. 'We're right here, Sirius', Peter replied, looking puzzled, 'what's wrong?'
Sirius didn't respond. He was too busy listening to the voice, which he now realised was coming from inside his head.
'Help me, boy, please...you're the only one who can...'
'How?' Sirius replied aloud, 'how can I help you?'
There was no reply. Sirius waited, a hand held aloft to stop James or Peter from speaking. But nothing came. After several minutes had passed, Sirius dropped his hand, and sighed. He looked at James and Peter, who were both perplexed and worried. He tried to smile, but failed miserably.
'I...thought I heard something.' He lied.
'Thought?' James said doubtfully, 'you sounded like you were having a conversation to me.'
Sirius shook his head. 'Nope. Guess I'm just tired.'
James stared at his friend, and Sirius knew he didn't believe him. He heaved a sigh of relief, when James shrugged, and with one last curious glance at his friend, continued his search for a secret passageway. Sirius did the same, but his heart was no longer in it. So when a disheartened James called a halt to the search for that night, he felt quite pleased.
'I can't BELIEVE we didn't find anything', James moaned softly, 'we'll just have to try again tomorrow night.'
'I don't think that's such a good idea', Peter answered nervously, 'someone's bound to notice if we're wandering around two nights in a row.'
'Oh all right then', James looked cross, ' where's your sense of adventure, Peter?Well I can't do it the next night, because I have quidditch until late, and not the next night either, because of astronomy. Say Wednesday night then?'
Peter nodded. James prodded Sirius, who was in a world of his own. 'Sirius, what's the matter with you?' James asked, 'you're acting weird tonight. Will you come with me on Wednesday night.'
'Yeah', Sirius replied absently, 'sure.'
The three boys fell into bed, disappointed and tired. The sun was creeping into the sky, when Sirius finally fell asleep, only to be plagued by dreams of a bodiless voice, pleading for help once more.
'Ray!' He hissed, 'get up! I take it you don't have to go to your mother after all?'
Remus opened his eyes, then squeezed them shut again and groaned. 'What're you talking about?' He asked, yawning widely, 'what did you say about my Mum?'
'I said it looks like you'll be able to come with us tonight', Sirius repeated impatiently.
Remus went red, and swallowed hard. 'Umm, I might be leaving this evening', he replied hesitantly, 'so I'm still not sure whether I'll be able to come.'
Sirius eyed his friend closely, then shrugged. 'Fair enough. You coming to breakfast?'
Sirius and Remus were about to get up from the table, when James staggered in, red and perspiring, clutching his broom in his hand.
'What's the matter, Potter?' Lucius Malfoy called from the Slytherin table, 'quidditch too tough for you to handle? I always thought you looked like a wimp.'
'He's a prefect!' Remus looked aghast, 'he can't say stuff like that!'
James glared at the Slytherins, and collapsed onto the bench next to Sirius. 'You two ready for tonight?' He asked in a low voice, wiping his forehead with a napkin.
'What're you up to tonight?' the rest of the quidditch team had entered, and Adam had overheard James' question.
'Nothing', James replied nonchalantly, 'just gonna ask Madam Pince to let us have a look in the Restricted Section of the library.'
'You've got no chance', Adam replied, raising an eyebrow, 'you're only puny first years. James, Paul said to remind you we've got practice on Monday morning at seven o'clock.'
James groaned, and banged his head off the table. Adam stole a slice of toast from Sirius, waved cheekily, and sauntered out of the Great Hall.
'Why is Paul torturing us like this?' James moaned, 'I can't stand all this practice. I don't need it!'
'Arrogant little git.'
Sirius, Remus and James all twisted around in their seats to see who had spoken. Sirius sighed. It was Narcissa. She bent down to James, and narrowed her eyes. 'Because of you and your stupid little friends, I've had a warning. I only have one more chance before they give the job of Head Girl to someone else.'
James smirked. 'That's not our problem.'
Narcissa looked like she might hit him, and James instinctively ducked. But the Head Girl swept past them, and sat down beside Lucius, muttering darkly into his ear.
'Are you sure you're related to her?' Remus asked Sirius, shaking his head in disbelief.
'Give me Narcissa over Bellatrix any day', Sirius replied grimly, 'that girl is the spawn of Satan or something.'
The clock struck midnight in the Gryffindor tower. It was pitch black outside, and all the Gryffindors were trailing off to bed. Only Adam Fowler, Julia Cleansweep and a few other fifth years remained, apart from Sirius and James.
'Come on', James breathed, willing the fifth years to leave, 'come on, Adam, get up...'
Sirius and James had agreed to stay and make sure everyone had gone to bed, before fetching Peter and Remus from the dormitory. James was tapping his foot impatiently, and chewing his finger nails, staring at the fifth years. Sirius was trying to act cool, lounging in an over-stuffed armchair, occasionally glancing at the clock, then at the group of fifth years. At last, at five minutes to one, Adam and his friends got up to leave.
'Night, James...Sirius', he called, yawning, 'you should be in bed-ickle first years, it's way past your bedtime.' And he flashed them a grin, before trudging up the stairs.
Sirius and James waited until they were sure all the boys had had time to get to their dormitories, and then leapt up. They hurried to their own dormitory, where they found Peter sitting up in bed, desperately trying to stay awake.
'There you are!' He hissed, 'it's about time!'
James looked around. 'Where's Remus?' He asked, puzzled.
'He never came up here', Peter said, shrugging, 'must've gone to visit his mum I s'pose.'
'It's a bit late for him to leave, isn't it?' Sirius said doubtfully, 'Saturday evening? I mean, he doesn't live very near, and he'll have to be back by tomorrow night!'
'Oh, come on, don't worry about him, he can come the next time!' James held the cloak up and admired it. 'It'll fit better with three anyway. Come on you two!'
James wrapped the cloak around himself and his two friends, and they cerpt out of the dormitory, and out of the common room.
'Let's go down to the Great Hall, and start there.' James hissed into Sirius' ear.
'What exactly are we looking for?' Sirius breathed.
'Any secret passages, or hidden doors. Like I said before, Adam says the school is full of them.' James was practically running on tip-toe, so Peter and Sirius had to speed up, if they wanted to remain covered by the cloak.
They reached the Great Hall without meeting Mrs Norris or Filch, the caretaker. James sealed the doors behind them with a simple Sealing Spell, and threw the cloak aside. 'We'll hear anyone who tries to get in', he assured his friends.
The trio began to pace around the huge room. Sirius ran his hands along the wall, feeling for any irregularities in its structure. Peter gently tapped the walls, searching for a hollow spot, and James whispered basic spells for opening doors and windows, pointing his wand at various sections of the walls.
'The Amulet...'
Sirius leapt a foot in the air, and bit his lip hard to prevent himself from shouting. Neither Peter nor James had noticed. He turned his head this way and that, trying to catch the voice again. Silence greeted his ears.
He had heard a voice-that same pleading voice of his dream-and again, it had spoken of an amulet.
'Please...you can hear me, boy, please help me...'
Sirius felt a shiver run down his spine. 'Where are you?' He hissed back.
James and Peter both stopped what they were doing and stared at him. 'We're right here, Sirius', Peter replied, looking puzzled, 'what's wrong?'
Sirius didn't respond. He was too busy listening to the voice, which he now realised was coming from inside his head.
'Help me, boy, please...you're the only one who can...'
'How?' Sirius replied aloud, 'how can I help you?'
There was no reply. Sirius waited, a hand held aloft to stop James or Peter from speaking. But nothing came. After several minutes had passed, Sirius dropped his hand, and sighed. He looked at James and Peter, who were both perplexed and worried. He tried to smile, but failed miserably.
'I...thought I heard something.' He lied.
'Thought?' James said doubtfully, 'you sounded like you were having a conversation to me.'
Sirius shook his head. 'Nope. Guess I'm just tired.'
James stared at his friend, and Sirius knew he didn't believe him. He heaved a sigh of relief, when James shrugged, and with one last curious glance at his friend, continued his search for a secret passageway. Sirius did the same, but his heart was no longer in it. So when a disheartened James called a halt to the search for that night, he felt quite pleased.
'I can't BELIEVE we didn't find anything', James moaned softly, 'we'll just have to try again tomorrow night.'
'I don't think that's such a good idea', Peter answered nervously, 'someone's bound to notice if we're wandering around two nights in a row.'
'Oh all right then', James looked cross, ' where's your sense of adventure, Peter?Well I can't do it the next night, because I have quidditch until late, and not the next night either, because of astronomy. Say Wednesday night then?'
Peter nodded. James prodded Sirius, who was in a world of his own. 'Sirius, what's the matter with you?' James asked, 'you're acting weird tonight. Will you come with me on Wednesday night.'
'Yeah', Sirius replied absently, 'sure.'
The three boys fell into bed, disappointed and tired. The sun was creeping into the sky, when Sirius finally fell asleep, only to be plagued by dreams of a bodiless voice, pleading for help once more.