Disclaimer: Professor Dumbledore and his students are the property of J. K. Rowling.
Choosing the Head Boy Chapter Seven—February Eleventh and FourteenthWith Valentine's Day falling on a Hogsmeade Saturday, Professor Dumbledore had taken the unusual step of announcing that students seventeen or older would be permitted to stay in Hogsmeade beyond the usual six o'clock deadline. They merely had to be back in their common rooms by their usual curfew.
"The teachers probably prefer shipping the young lovers off to Hogsmeade rather than trip over them all over the castle," Remus surmised.
Needless to say, having a date for Valentine's Day, even among those under seventeen, had risen to a new level of importance. Sirius had lost count of the number of girls who asked him for a date.
"I think I'm going to hide in our dormitory until the fifteenth," he grumbled after being ambushed by a Hufflepuff girl while leaving History of Magic. "Whatever happened to the girls waiting for the boys to ask them out? Elinor hasn't gotten the nerve up to ask Remus yet, but he's avoiding her as a preventative measure anyway."
The only semi-bright spot in the whole thing was that James and Lily had been wise enough to leave Valentine's Day as "To be scheduled" on the hall duty schedule when they compiled it in December. They had planned to wait until just a few days before the holiday and then fill it with the names of volunteers.
"Whoever is unlucky enough to be without a date will be glad to volunteer," James had said as Lily and he cuddled on a loveseat and drew up the schedule. "It'll give them something to do instead." At that time, he hadn't imagined that it would be he volunteering. Yet with almost a month having gone by since their fight, and with no sign of a thaw in Lily's feelings toward him, that was exactly what James planned to do when he attended the bimonthly prefects' meeting.
Lily, sitting alone in an armchair, was running the meeting solo. James and Remus had arrived, not late, but barely on time. They had left the common room early but taken a circuitous route to avoid running into Elinor Bagshot along the way.
"Just tell her you aren't interested, Moony," James had teased.
"I know I should, but she's a nice kid. If she gets up the nerve to ask and I turn her down, it'll embarrass her. If she never asks, everyone's feelings are spared."
"As you all know, Valentine's Day is Saturday," Lily said. "Rather than ask who wants the night off, we've decided to ask for volunteers for hall duty. If you don't have other plans, or your only plans are for earlier in the day, please volunteer for hall duty that night. So…anyone?"
James raised his hand and did a quick count of the other raised hands. Counting his, four hands were up initially. Elinor saw that Remus's hand was not raised; she raised hers.
"That's enough," Lily said as she jotted down the names. "Thank you everyone."
After a brief discussion about what was expected on Saturday, including the idea that some discretion and holiday leniency could be exercised in regard to the curfew—if students were escorting their dates back to their common rooms or on their way back to their own, let them be, if they were still "enjoying each other's company," remind them that it was past curfew—the meeting broke up. James stood up but lingered behind as the prefects left. Although she hadn't said anything, he expected that Lily and he would work on the next hall duty schedule after the meeting.
"Interesting meeting, Evans," Snape said just before he left. "Did you forget to script something for the Quidditch player so he can pretend that he knows what he's doing? I guess now that he's done shagging you, you have no reason to try to make him look semi-competent."
James would not let that go unanswered. "Have a good time on Saturday, Snapey. If you've managed to conjure up a date, why don't you take her for a nice moonlit stroll. Should be a nice night for it; the moon will be almost full." Snape flinched almost imperceptibly, and James pressed the point. "Better yet, take a stroll on Sunday night. I won't interfere."
James thought that Snape's answering glare couldn't possibly be more venomous—until he saw the look that Snape bestowed on Remus. As Snape passed Remus and swept out of the room, he muttered a stream of invectives under his breath. James couldn't hear what Snape said to Remus, but he could imagine. Remus listened to Snape's words with lowered eyes and a slightly bowed head. James felt only momentary satisfaction at landing that verbal blow on the Slytherin. Remus was tough. He usually faced insults with a placid "Is that the best you can do?" half-smile. But against this, against whatever it was that Snape had said to him, Remus was defenseless. He was vulnerable because he believed it to be true. And James was the one who goaded Snape into saying it.
"I'm sorry, Re—I shouldn't—" but Remus left without looking at him. "Idiot. I'm an idiot."
"Don't expect me to disagree," Lily said archly. "May I ask what that was all about, or do you still possess the sole right to be cryptic and keep secrets?" As she spoke, she filled in Valentine's Day on the posted schedule with her own name and with the names of the five students who raised their hands. "Surprised you don't have a date, Potter. Have you run out of girls who will put up with you?"
"You hate me. Got it. Couldn't be clearer. Now, could we work on the schedule?"
Sirius and Peter were doing homework in the common room when James returned. James slid into the seat beside Sirius and dropped his forehead onto his folded arms on the tabletop.
"Padfoot, old friend, you are no longer the sole Gryffindor member of the 'I spoke without thinking and now I'm lower than troll droppings' Club. Snivellus really is an irritating git, isn't he?"
"I've always thought so. What happened?"
"He insulted Lily and me, I insulted him, then he took it out on Moony. I'd better go upstairs and apologize." James started to stand, but Sirius grabbed his arm.
"Moony's not here. How long ago was this?"
"Over an hour ago—damn. I've got to look for him."
"Me too," Peter said as he rose to follow James. Sirius was already on his feet and heading for the portrait hole. James found himself wishing, not for the first time, that Filch had not confiscated and probably destroyed their map of the school.
"Who's going to look where?" Peter asked just outside the Fat Lady.
"I'll look outside and check the shack," Sirius called over his shoulder as he ran toward the stairs.
"You check the fourth floor and below, Wormtail, and I'll check above," James directed. "And no, you don't have to go near the dungeons. Moony's too smart to head there."
As James ran off, he realized that he should have offered his invisibility cloak to Peter. It was almost curfew, and Filch wasn't likely to be lenient if he caught Peter roaming the corridors. James wasn't worried for himself. One of the perks of being Head Boy or a prefect was that one could always pretend to have hall duty.
After quickly checking the owlery, an impulse led James to return by way of the corridor with the alcove overlooking the Whomping Willow. He found Remus standing there with his hands behind his back as he gazed out at the darkness. James's sense of unease increased at the sight of Remus contemplating what was, in effect, his gaoler.
"Have you been here the whole time?" James asked.
"No, I went for a walk. Nowhere in particular. I almost went outside, but it's a bit too cold tonight to be out without a cloak."
"Sirius is outside looking for you."
"Hmm." Remus still hadn't turned around.
"I'm really sorry that I goaded Snape. I wasn't thinking."
Remus made a sound of disbelief. "Of course you were thinking, James. It was quite well done too. Everyone's instinctive primal fear, being eaten alive, and in Snape's case it almost came true. Of course he'd be especially vulnerable to being reminded of that night, and you exploited his weakness well. And the coup de grace, you reminded him that you were the one who saved his life. He's enough of a prick that I bet he finds that especially galling. All in all, masterfully done. Quite clever. You've told us before that the Sorting Hat considered Ravenclaw for you. I can see why."
It was clear that Remus did not and would not accept James's apology. But Remus wasn't staring at the Willow because he was angry with James. James decided to attack the most probable reason for Remus to contemplate that particular view.
"I don't know what Snape said to you, Moony, but I saw that it hurt. Whatever it was, it was shit. Don't believe him; don't let him hurt you."
Remus finally turned to regard James. His eyes were cold, and James thought it strange that eyes such a warm color could be so cold.
"I don't care what Snape said," Remus stated calmly. "I know that he sees me as a monster. How could he see me any other way? But now I know that you do too."
"No! I swear I don't! I just wanted to remind him of how frightened he was that night."
"Of how frightened he was of me. You know, I never forget the wolf. All month long, I feel him there, waiting for the moon to give him dominance over me. But I thought the three of you forgot sometimes. 'That's our friend Remus—and oh yeah, sometimes he turns into a bloodthirsty beast.' But you don't forget, do you? In fact, you find it rather— convenient. Snape pushed Sirius too far, and Sirius decided to feed him to his friend the werewolf. Snape pushed you too far, and you decided to remind him of almost being eaten by your friend the werewolf. Different degree; same idea. And then there are the full moons. Running around the Forbidden Forest with a dark creature—it's a hell of a way to prove that you're brave enough to be true Gryffindors, isn't it? It is convenient to have a werewolf for a pet. I'm not complaining. I'm grateful. I really am. I just needed to put it in perspective that's all."
James felt even lower than he had when Lily had broken up with him. At least in that fight, he had believed himself in the right. But now—
"Do you remember when we were first-years and I told you that my philosophy of life was 'Always expect the worst, and you'll never be disappointed?' My problem is that I forgot that rule. The three of you made me forget that rule. Last year, Sirius did me the favor of reminding me.
"That's why I'm not angry with you. I've forgiven Sirius. I've forgiven you. And when it's Peter's turn to disappoint me, I'll undoubtedly forgive him too. You're all human; I'll never again make the mistake of expecting you to be more."
Remus started walking back toward Gryffindor, and James walked beside him in silence. Ever since Sirius's mistake last year, Remus had worn an air of wariness, of mistrust, like a protective cloak. James had expected the wariness to fade away in time, perhaps whenever Remus was ready to forgive Sirius. Now he feared that Remus would never shed his wariness. He would forgive his friends, but he would never trust them again.
"I don't want to leave the Shack Sunday night," Remus said suddenly. "I just have a bad feeling about this time." The implication was clear; Remus didn't trust them to keep the wolf out of trouble.
"Alright," James agreed. "We'll stay in."
* * * * *
After coming across two amorous couples in just the first half hour of hall duty, James realized that hall duty on Valentine's Day was not a good way to take one's mind off romantic troubles. He was very tempted to skive off for a while, but he didn't have a good place to go. Sirius had assured him that if he even thought about returning to their dormitory early, he would experience every hex that Sirius had ever learned at his dear mother's knee. And although he had been envious of the couples enjoying the spirit of the holiday, he knew that he'd derive no joy in sending them on their way when the curfew rolled around in another half hour.
"Actually, it might be fun to interrupt a Slytherin couple. I wonder where snakes go to snog?" He headed down a spiral staircase with the intention of slowly making his way to the dungeons. Lily was headed up the stairs.
"Oh—hi."
"Hi."
James tried to peer down the stairs behind her. "You aren't alone, are you? I thought you usually did hall duty with one of the Slytherins."
"Belinda Nott is the only Slytherin who volunteered tonight, so I paired her up with Tony Huang. Excuse me." Lily tried to move past James, but he shifted slightly to his left to block her.
"But it's not safe for you to be in corridors alone."
"I stopped worrying about that a month ago. If anyone in school were going to do anything to me, they would have tried by now. Will you let me pass, please?" James pressed back against the wall, allowed Lily to pass, and then began to climb the stairs behind her. "Where do you think you're going, Potter? I don't need a bodyguard, and if I did, I wouldn't want it to be you."
"You'll just have to put up with me. You may hate me, but I'm still mad about you, and I'm not letting you wander about alone."
"Fine." Lily paused at the top of the stairs for a moment so James could fall into step beside her. She glanced sideways at him as they walked. "Not quite the way we thought we'd spend Valentine's Day, is it, James?"
"I'm really, really, really sorry that I can't tell you where I was that night."
"So am I," she said sadly.
"All students, please return to your common rooms immediately and remain there until further notice," announced the magically amplified voice of Professor Dumbledore. "Would all teachers please meet me in the Entrance Hall."
Only once before had a similar announcement been made, and that was when a student had reported seeing a troll loose in the school. The troll had turned out to merely be a boggart.
"What do you suppose is wrong?" Lily wondered.
"I don't know, but I do know a concealed balcony that overlooks the Entrance Hall."
"We can't! We have to go to the common room."
"We will. This is just a brief detour, that's all. C'mon, Lily. Do you want to know what's really going on, or do you want to hear the edited version they'll tell the children?" He walked backward and pulled her hand as he spoke. Lily resisted for a moment, and then went with him.
"I think Dumbledore wanted me to be a good influence on you, but you've turned into a bad influence on me."
"Yeah, Remus said something similar after he became a prefect."
The entrance to the balcony was a trapdoor in the floor of the storage room for the Great Hall's banners. The balcony itself was more of a high-sided catwalk, overlooking the Great Hall on one side and the Entrance Hall on the other. James unlatched the trapdoor with a flick of his wand and then transfigured the door itself into a ladder. He pressed a finger to his lips before going down the ladder, but it was unnecessary. Lily gave him a look that he loosely translated as, "Of course I'll be quiet. Do you think I'm stupid?" Dumbledore was in the middle of explaining the situation to the teachers while James and Lily crawled to the balcony wall and listened.
"–and managed to hide. However, she doesn't think that Sebastian Bones managed to get away. At the first house she reached, she made a Floo call to the Ministry, and aurors are in Hogsmeade now. All Hogwarts students in town are being gathered at one location and guarded. Our two concerns right now are to make sure that the school is secure, and to find out exactly which students need to be accounted for."
"Do you think the Death Eaters may have attacked other students in town as well?" McGonagall asked. James suddenly felt very cold. Peter and his girlfriend, Anna, were in Hogsmeade.
"They may have. The attack on Miss Stewart and Mr. Bones may have been isolated incident, or it may have been part of a larger coordinated attack. We'll only know when we learn if any students are missing. The aurors will soon send me a list of all the Hogwarts students in their protection. I want the heads of houses to go to the common rooms now and find out exactly which students are not present. Assure the students that no one will be in trouble for not being present, so no one should try to cover for their friends, but we must know who they are. Next, I want the—"
James and Lily did not linger to hear the rest of the instructions. They needed to get to Gryffindor before Professor McGonagall arrived.
"What's going on?" a student asked as they entered the common room. James instinctively glanced around the room for his three friends—hoping to see Peter—but none of them were there.
"Hang on," James replied as he strode quickly to the boys' staircase. "We'll explain when everyone's here." As he ran up the spiral staircase, he pounded on each of the seven bedroom doors and the bathroom door and called out, "Downstairs! It's important!" As he came back down the stairs, Sirius was waiting for him in the doorway of their room.
"What's wrong?" Sirius asked as he pulled on a shirt and followed James down the stairs.
"Did Peter come back early?"
"Enuresis Hex, Blistering Skin Hex, Oozing Orifices Hex—" Sirius counted off the threats which would have kept Peter away.
James reached the bottom of the stairs before Lily came back down the girls' staircase. He found every pair of eyes in the room fixed on him. Remus was near the base of the stairs, but he still didn't see Peter. For an instant, James wondered how much he should admit to knowing, but he knew that every person in the room wanted to hear the "unedited" story as much as Lily and he had.
"I know that two students, Meg Stewart and Sebastian Bones were attacked by Death Eaters in Hogsmeade." A few students swore or gasped in surprise. "Meg got away and got help, but we don't know about Sebastian yet. Aurors are guarding the other students in Hogsmeade, but they want to make sure they have everyone. Who's not here?"
"Vivian Tierney and Owen Jones are in Hogsmeade," a girl said. Although they were sixth-years, James knew them both very well. Vivian was Gryffindor's keeper and Owen had taken Sirius's place as a beater when Dumbledore removed him from the team last year.
"Darius Murphy isn't here," a fifth-year boy said.
"But he's not old enough to be in Hogsmeade tonight," Elinor pointed out.
"Is he in Hogsmeade?" James asked the room at large. "Does anyone know?"
"He's not in trouble if he is," Lily added. "We just have to know."
"He had a date with that Ravenclaw prefect, Caroline," one of Darius's friends said, "and I don't think they'd leave the castle."
Just then, the portrait hole swung open, and Professor McGonagall entered followed a moment later by Darius. Half of the students in the room swept toward him in a rush of relieved voices.
"Where were you?'
"We thought the Death Eaters got you!"
"Were you in Hogsmeade when it happened?"
James looked toward Sirius and Remus on his left. They looked as tense as he felt. He looked to the right at Lily and Eurydice. They looked just as tense—and very alone. He searched the room with his eyes. None of the other three seventh-year girls were in sight. He went over to put an arm around Lily, and she leaned back against him gratefully.
"They're O.K.; they're with the aurors," he said quietly. She nodded.
"It seems that the news has preceded me here," McGonagall noted, and the babble of voices died away. "I need to know who is not present."
As James listed the six names, he saw McGonagall's expression become ever more grim. "When you receive the list of who is safe in Hogsmeade, will you let us know, Professor?" he asked.
"From all the houses," one of the younger students added. Many students had siblings in other houses.
"Of course," McGonagall said. "In the meantime, Potter, Evans, and the sixth and seventh-year prefects have hall duty. Please stay in pairs, and if you see anything unusual, please send word to the Headmaster or the teachers via a ghost or a portrait." She looked at James and Lily standing together and then at Remus. "I believe that Hufflepuff has an odd number of prefects tonight, so one of you should work with one of them. The remainder of you are to remain here, no exceptions." She stared directly at Sirius as she said those words. James glanced over at him out of the corner of his eye. The scowl on Sirius's face was not unexpected. "And as of this moment, you have a new password, 'Safe return.'"
"I'm not staying in here, useless, if it's dangerous out there," Sirius complained as he and Remus met Lily and James near the portrait hole.
"First of all, it isn't dangerous in the school," Remus pointed out, "and second of all, if I'm wrong about that, they need you here. You and Dice are the only seventh-years here, and Defense isn't exactly her strong suit."
Sirius frowned but nodded. "O.K., I'll stay. Just take good care of each other."
"We'll see you later, Dogbreath," James said as he followed Lily out.
"I'll head down toward the Hufflepuff common room," Remus offered just outside the Fat Lady, "and I'll take the scenic route through the third and fourth floor corridors. Why don't you check near the library, James?" James understood what Remus really meant. Remus was going to check the three secret passages to Hogsmeade that had entrances in those corridors, and he wanted James to check the one with an entrance behind a tapestry not far from the library.
James nodded. "See you later, Remus." As he set off toward the library with Lily, James wondered if he could risk letting Lily in on such an important secret as one of their four remaining tunnels to Hogsmeade, or if he should make up an excuse to go off on his own for a few minutes. "But it'll take more than just a few minutes to really check it out thoroughly," he thought.
"You and your friends have a secret way to get into Hogsmeade, don't you?" Lily suddenly asked. It seemed that she was about to make the decision for him.
"What makes you think that?"
"For one thing, every time you win a Quidditch match and throw a victory party in the common room, you and your friends start handing out sweets from Honeydukes and bottles of butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks."
"Excellent deduction, Mr. Holmes. The truth is, we're on the way there now, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about it."
"You're really impossible sometimes, James. Death Eaters are in Hogsmeade. This secret passage, or whatever it is, connects the school and Hogsmeade. And if you found this passage, don't you think it's possible that one or more of the Death Eaters found it when they were students here? We have to tell the teachers about it."
James had to admit to himself—very reluctantly—that she had a point. He stopped in front of a tapestry. "Look, we're right here. Let's just see if anyone's used it lately, and we can discuss whether or not to tell the teachers about it later."
Lily bit her lip as she looked at the tapestry. "I'm not—it could really be dangerous."
"We've been practicing setting up wards in here. I won't have to go very far in to know if anyone has been through. You just wait here, and I'll be back in—twenty minutes."
"No," she said emphatically. "I'm not letting you go alone. How do we get in?" She pulled the tapestry aside, peeked behind it, and began feeling for an invisible door. Although James could see the door clearly, he knew that all she could see was the stone wall.
James pulled the tapestry back into place. "Close your eyes and imagine a door just like the ones into our dorm rooms. The door you see in your mind is behind the tapestry. If you know it's there, it'll be there. Open your eyes and look behind the tapestry again." Lily's smile when she peeked behind the curtain indicated that she had managed to see the door on the first try. "Maybe I should go first," James said before she could open the door. "Since I know which wards we put up and where they are."
Just a few yards into the tunnel, James felt a slight tension in the air. It was faint enough that he might have overlooked it and walked through had he not been expecting it. He extended his wand tip forward into the tension and whispered, "Reveal." A shimmering curtain of pale blue appeared. The center of the transparent curtain was a pale aqua shape like a man with two heads or like the shadow of two men walking side by side.
"A Disturbance Charm, isn't it?" Lily whispered. "I've read about it, but I've never seen one. Two people have been through this one."
"But not recently. A recent disturbance would be red, then it fades to orange, yellow, etc. This is almost blue again; it's about a week old. Sirius went to Hogsmeade last week. I think this is Sirius coming and going. See, both heads are the exact same height." James traced his wand tip along the outer edges of the shimmering curtain, severing its connection to the wall, and causing it to shrivel in upon itself and disappear. "We'll set a new one on our way back."
James also deactivated the next spell in the tunnel, one of Sirius's design that would give a bad case of hives to whoever was unlucky enough to pass through. He had known where to look for it only because of a large paw print of dried mud on the wall.
The next ward in the tunnel was one they had studied in class, so James encouraged Lily to lead the way. "Think of it as practice for the N.E.W.T.'s. Find the protective charm and neutralize it." Lily walked forward cautiously, extending both her wand and her free hand with fingers spread as if she were feeling her way through a dark room. Her eyes swept the floor, walls, and ceiling before her. She stopped and cocked her head as she looked at a dark stain from a liquid dripped down one wall, and then she looked at a similar stain on the opposite wall.
"Those stains are from a potion or something," she said. "But it would need to be—" She used her wand to direct a gust of air at the dust and sand of the floor, revealing that the stain continued all the way across. "And to neutralize it—you have to ingest a small amount of orris root, which is also the main ingredient in the potion. You don't have any orris root with you, do you?"
"No."
Lily thought for a moment. She smiled, licked her finger, wiped the stain with it, and put her purple-tinged finger into her mouth to suck it clean. "Enough?"
"Go ahead." Lily walked across the line with ease while James copied her actions. He then used his wand to blow the dust back over the line to hide it again. "You won't be able to get through the next one," he said as they set off again. Lily was still leading the way, using every sense to find the next ward.
"Is that a challenge, Potter?"
"No, just stating a fact." He saw another paw print on wall. "In fact, you might not want to go any further." Lily stepped backward, shivering with a sudden chill.
"Oh my God, that's cold! What is it?"
"Something Remus read about and has been trying to fine tune. It lets the four of us through, but no one else."
James walked beyond the point where Lily had halted, but something felt wrong. He knew that the primary ward did not have a physical effect on him, but Remus had also incorporated a Disturbance Charm into the same place. He should have felt an even tension all over his skin, but instead he had felt the sensation of torn cobwebs. "Reveal," he said as he touched the Disturbance Charm with his wand. The shimmering curtain glowed red where spell after spell had battered it. A moment later, he was back on the safe side of the ward. The curtain of light had disappeared when James's wand lost contact with it, but Lily's eyes were wide as she stared where it had been.
"James? Did someone try to get through?"
"Yeah," he said as he took her by the arm and hurried her back toward the school and safety. "We have to tell the teachers about this passage. Someone tried to get through from Hogsmeade tonight."
James and Lily were just passing the library when they heard Professor Dumbledore's voice echoing through the corridor. "The aurors believe that the danger has passed for tonight and have just escorted your classmates back to the school. All prefects may now return to your common rooms, and we would ask that all students remain in their common rooms and dormitories for the remainder of the night. Please keep those students who are still missing in your thoughts."
Lily hesitated for a moment, apparently torn between hurrying directly to Professor Dumbledore's office with a warning about the secret tunnel, which was not a secret from the Death Eaters, and hurrying to Gryffindor to discover if her friends were among those who had returned or among those still missing. James felt the same emotional dilemma, but he also saw a practical reason in returning to the tower first.
"Let's get back to Gryffindor and find Remus," James said. "He's the one who knows that ward best. Dumbledore may want to ask him about it, or the aurors may want him to take it down so they can go through." Lily nodded, grateful that the logical choice was also the desired one.
They must have arrived at Gryffindor Tower just on the heels of their housemates, for the excited babble of voices had not yet died down, nor had Professor McGonagall departed. After escorting her teenage charges back to the Fat Lady and giving the new password, she now stood just outside the open portrait, unwilling to intrude on the students, but not quite ready to walk away.
"You'll tell her?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, you go on in and see if all of your friends are back."
Lily gave his forearm a slight squeeze, as if wishing him luck when facing the sterm head of their house, and slipped past McGonagall with the words, "Pardon me, Professor."
James stepped forward. "Professor? I found something you should know about. I know of a hidden tunnel that leads to the cellar of the Hog's Head Inn, and when Lily and I checked it tonight, we found that someone tried to get through it tonight."
McGonagall fixed her square spectacles on James and peered up at him intently. "Let me see if I understand you, Potter. You know of a tunnel between the school and Hogsmeade—where Death Eaters attacked students tonight—and instead of coming forward immediately and telling an adult about this tunnel, you went down into it?"
"It's not as bad as it sounds, Professor. We have—"
"No, it's not as bad as it sounds; it's worse. Not only did you put your life in danger by going into this tunnel, but you brought Miss Evans with you, even though you know she's gotten death threats."
For the second time that week, James knew that he was in the wrong and that he had no excuse.
"Honestly," McGonagall huffed as she put both fists on her hips and shook her head slightly. "You and Black may be the top students of your year, but for all the common sense you show at times, one would think that your combined brainpower was less than that of a puffskein. And you!" she looked over James's shoulder. "Did you risk your life by going down into a tunnel tonight too?"
"Yes, Professor," Remus answered as he took his place beside James. His robe was covered with dust and dirt. "I found that the tunnel had caved in, and one person was killed."
McGonagall's eyes widened. "Who? Please not a student." The last was an almost whispered plea.
"He graduated two years ago, Charles Liegeard. He was still wearing a Death Eater mask when I partially dug him out."
"We have to see the Headmaster immediately," McGonagall said as he turned on her heel and headed down the corridor. James and Remus both hesitated for a moment and glanced at the now closed portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Professor?" James called out as they hurried to follow her swiftly retreating figure. "Could you tell us if Peter made it back all right?"
"Yes, he did," Professor McGonagall replied in a kinder tone. "However Isabel Shacklebolt is still missing as are four students from other houses."
Author's Note: Charles Liegeard, our dead Death Eater, can be found still alive in the story "In the Hogwarts Library." You'll find it posted under my other pen name, mysid.