Thanks to all the reviews and the people behind the screen that took the time to type them out!! Appreciate it muchos. Anyway, back to the story…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Life at Hogwarts soon got into full gear. For the past two months, students all over the castle hustled in and out of classrooms and towers, working hard on their studies, and all the while making new friendships, rekindling old ones, and sparking hidden feelings (for the older students anyway). However, the first years were busy just enjoying themselves while they were still young. Lily excelled in every single one of her classes, earning top marks in Charms, Herbology, and History of Magic (this due to the fact that she was the only one that stayed awake). The lowest marks she got were in Transfiguration. Don't get her wrong, she was a mere second place, but her marks compared to that of James Potter could not even compare. James also excelled in every class. He even managed to do well in Charms for the most part, but not as well as Lily, for she far exceeded anyone's ability in that subject so much that they questioned whether she knew more than Professor Flitwick. She would never let this get to her head though, and admired Professor Flitwick as much as he admired her. A sense of mutual respect, I must say. James was proud of himself, but in a sense a little disappointed that he didn't get top marks in all his classes. He feared that he would let his family down, but the ecstatic letter from his mother and father erases those thoughts write away. Lily's dorm mates were doing fairly well in every subject, evening all their subjects out to excellent marks, as well as James' mates as well. James, Sirius and Remus soon were noticed among all students and professors alike. Prank after prank they pulled, faithfully going to every detention every time they got caught, and always in the mood for a good laugh or two. Their main targets were Slytherins, particularly two slimy gits named Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy. For some reason, it was those two that usually ended up on the other side of a prank from James, Sirius and/or Remus. However, they did get in their small pranks to Lily, Jade, Carly, Penny, and Alice. The girls didn't take the boys lightly and yelled at them every chance they had gotten. Even Frank and Peter got in a bit on the pranks when the could. Peter was still a little shy, and Frank was always with Alice. * wink wink*
One thing was noticed throughout the span of two months, Remus seemed to have disappeared twice, and James and Sirius were the first to realize it. His excuse was that his mother was sick and he went to go visit, but the tone in Remus' voice had James and Sirius wondering whether he was telling the truth or not. Faithful as friends, however, they decided not to push on the subject, and concentrate more on causing havoc on the grounds of Hogwarts. It was now Halloween, and classes were cut short in spite of the big feast later on in the evening. With that, the Gryffindor first years decided to go outside and explore the outer portions of Hogwarts.
"Potter, for once, you and your cronies managed to have a sensible idea." pointed Lily.
"It's because of our ingenius." said James
"Our intuition." added Remus.
"And of course, our charm." finished Sirius.
"Oh don't flatter yourselves, boys." Jade retorted.
Frank decided to join in on the fun. "Well some of us are charming, ain't that write Alice?" and added a wink.
Alice blushed but answered, "Riiiiight, Frankie, right."
"OOOO so now it's Frankie, eh Ally…" mentioned Penny.
"Frankie and Ally, how cuuuuute!" chimed in Jade and Carly, with fluttering eyes. Everyone laughed at this while the Frank and Alice blushed furiously, causing even more laughter.
"Hey Remus, so is your mom feeling better?"
"Y-y-y-yeah Pete, she's doing well. I'm glad that I got to visit her last week."
James and Sirius looked at each other, but shrugged their shoulders and walked along. They came upon this hill near the lake, and decided to name it the Lion's Heart, after their mascot, the Gryffindor Lion. They added that this hill would be theirs and theirs only, and marked it with their initial on a nearby tree. Jade was observing Lily write her name under James', and said,
"Look guys!!! Look at this!" Lily was confused and the ten crowded around as she put one hand over 'James and the other over 'Evans'.
"Oh my gosh, it's like music to the ears!!! Lily Potter. Wooow." Sirius decided to say, and earned a sandwich whack from James and Lily. The others just shook their heads, all agreeing in their minds that it did in fact look good together.
"You know, it's only been two months, and I'm already having the time of my life. It's all thanks to you guys. Yes, all of you, even you boys." Carly decided to say. Carly was also a muggle-born, and somewhat shy, but nonetheless felt right at home when crowded around her dear friends, especially around Remus. She felt she related more to him than to even the girls. He was so nice and sweet, and always left an open ear for her to talk about stuff. In fact, it was well known that Remus and Carly grew a liking to each other, but were just too afraid to admit it, and plus the fact that they were only eleven.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the day gave into the night, they went back for the Great Feast, and was greeted by enormous amounts of food. James and Sirius decided to have a contest, and pigged out on whatever they could find. Those around the two were watching these two characters duke it out, while the girls just simply walked away from the scene claiming that it was too disgusting to bear witness to. It turns out, that both of them gave up at around the same time, and ended in a tie. Everyone then went back to the Tower and hung out in the common room. It was here when the talk of quidditch began to rise.
"I'm going to be on the team next year." said James. "I've been flying all my life, and I can't wait to try-out."
"Me too!" said Sirius and Jade together. They looked at each other.
"You?!?!" They both said again. Remus chuckled at how similar these two people in front of him were, despite their different…. opinions…. of each other.
"Well good luck to the both of you. I, however will just remain on the stands thank you very much." said Lily. The others agreed.
"Well that's for sure Evans, considering what happened our past flying lesson."
"Hey!!!"
"What are you going to tell me, that it just so happened the ground came flying up at you." mocked James.
"Well, it was scary from so high up."
"Lily…" said Jade. "You were only seven feet away from the ground, plus you are supposed to look forward, not down."
"I know… maybe I'm just not meant to fly."
"Don't say that Lils, I mean you can't be good at everything."
"Yeah right, Penny, look at wonder-boy over there." She pointed towards James. "He does things well without even trying."
"He's a Potter." replied Sirius. "I've been close with his family. If you think James is amazing, you should see his parents."
"I-I'm not all that great, guys." James replied shyly.
"What?!?! Are you kidding… you got the highest grade in Transfiguration in over a century!"
"And what do you call your Charms grade??"
"Oh……. yeah……."
"Exactly."
"As I was saying," interrupted Sirius. "His parents were extremely gifted. They still are actually. His dad was a shoe-in for professional quidditch, but decided on becoming an Auror instead, and a great one too. His mom is one of the best Healers in St. Mungo's. Both intelligent and dedicated. It's not surprising that James happens to be good at everything."
"I'M NOT GOOD AT EVERYTHING!"
"Ok ok, good at 'some' things then."
"Yeah. We all have our own gifts, it's just a matter of finding it. Sure I've come to find mine early, but I'm sure we'll find ours in time. Don't worry about who's better and who's not. Just remember that we're all here for the same reason, and that's just to have fun!!"
"No, you dope, we're here to get an education." Lily answered. She scolded James and after his quick apology, she then started letting his words sink in. James definitely knew how to conjure up the right things to say. She could tell because everyone was very attentive during his little speech. She even saw Peter look at him in admiration. Though she'd never admit it, James was very good with words, and very charming. She soon drove these thoughts out of her mind.
"Well, I'm gonna get started on my assignments, everyone. Happy Halloween!!!"
Everyone glanced at each other, and Jade even muttered, "Crazy." before following her and the girls followed her back to the Tower. Frank and Alice decided to play chess for a bit and went to go get the game pieces. So that leaves us with James, Sirius, and Remus.
"Guys… it's Halloween."
"What's that got to do with anything, Sirius?"
"You know James, don't you? Right?"
James shook his head
"Remus?!"
"No clue, pal."
"Oh bugger, let's go explore this castle!!!"
"Exploring the castle?? Ohhhh exploring the castle!! Yeah let's go boys!! To the hallways!" said James.
"TO THE HALLWAYS!" shouted all three of them, which gave them awkward looks from everyone else in the common room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The three boys sneaked out of the common room, and explored the castle. They practically knew the place already, but decided to just explore some more, looking for great hiding places, and possibly, even secret passageways.
"Shhhh.. watch out guys!! Filch is coming!" whispered Remus. They waited for about two minutes, and sure enough, there was Filch coming down the corridors with Mrs. Norris as his company. The local castle caretaker is one to not ever cross paths with. He seemed to dislike everyone, except for maybe Dumbledore, but hey, who in their right mind would possibly hate the great wizard?? They either feared or respected him. Most of the time both. Anyway, as soon as Filch and Mrs. Norris were out of view, the trio emerged from their hiding spot, breathing heavily.
"Wow, Remus, how'd you hear him?? He must've been at least two hallways down before he showed up here. You know, it's almost as if you have the senses of a….."
"Just a hunch, guys, no biggie. Let's continue!" interrupted Remus. He didn't' want to get any further with the subject.
As they were walking, Sirius came across a picture deep in the dark of the corridor near the Astronomy Tower. He was feeling rather hungry this time, and with the pictures moving and all, he began to get curious.
"Hey James."
"What's up"
"You know how the pictures can move and stuff?"
"Uhh yeah"
"What about the food?"
"Hmm… you know that's a good question, do you know Remus?"
Remus chuckled. "Nope, not that I know
of."
Sirius then began to reach for the fruitbowl in the picture. When he came across a pair, he began to rub it with his hand. All of a sudden, he saw the picture move. This wasn't what surprised them however. A passage soon opened up revealing little midgets running around with pots and pans, dressed in dirty rags.
"House-elves… wonder what they're doing." James thought.
The three boys went inside and soon were run into buy one of the elves.
"Goodness, I am so sorry!! Fanny did not see you. Fanny will sure look where she is going at all costs. Umm, may Fanny ask why you are here?
"We kinda just found the place. Fanny, huh…. I'm James Potter."
"Sirius Black."
"R-Remus L-Lupin." Remus has never seen a house-elf before, him being… secluded from everything.
"Ah yes, hello young wizards. My name is Fanny, and this is the Hogwarts kitchen!!!
The three boys stared at it wide-eyed, seeing the absolute wonder they had just discovered.
"Wow, the kitchen!! So you guys make the food."
"Why, yes, Mr. Potter. Do you and your friends like the food?"
"OF COURSE!!"
"Then Fanny and the others will make more for you!!! As a special thanks for visiting us, we are honored to be at your service, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Mr. Lalupin.
"No, no, it's Lupin. I just stuttered is all."
"Oh!! I'm so sorry Mr. Lupin!!!" Fanny then began to bang his head with his hands, and Remus stopped him. These house-elves are kinda weird… but they make good food!
James, Sirius, and Remus ended up having one of the best Halloweens of their lives. They, together, teamed up to find the best room in all of Hogwarts… for now anyway. They discussed within themselves that if they found a place like this, there's no telling what other passages they'll be able to find. The house-elves were more than happy to be serving three students, and brought everything that the three requested. After another stuffing meal, the trio then headed back towards the tower. They didn't' make it back without getting caught… Filch spotted them. They, however, could care less. Any detention is worth it after you've had a meal like they had. They returned to the Gryffindor Tower, only to find Lily and the girls still working on their homework. They headed back up to their rooms, ignoring the chides from them and went into their dorm, agreeing to themselves to do their homework later, and plan more of these late-night wanderings around the castle. They all fell asleep, content with everything, and eager for another day in what those three liked to call…..
paradise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm so sorry…. this chapter isn't really all that great, yeah?? Oh well, just thought I'd add another chapter in for the day. Hopefully it turns out well. No plot really in this, it's just the characters cruising in school and all. Don't worry, though. I have some things in store, and I hope they turn out alright. Thanks for reading this far haha. Peace everyone.
