The Marauders' Years: Year One
Chapter Nine

Christmas Break's Coming


Three fourths of the Marauders stared at the remaining member of their group.

"Do you have a plot, perhaps?" Sirius asked, obviously interested.

James gave a short nod, "I've got a plot - an idea, really - it's up in the dorm." He motioned for them to follow and hurried upstairs; Sirius, Remus, and Peter hot on his heels.

-

"So, what's this idea?" Remus asked curiously, as he sat down on James's bed.

James made no answer as he opened his trunk and began digging through it.

After a few minutes of James throwing books over his shoulder he finally stopped the attack on his possessions. "Here it is..."

Peter, who had made the mistake of not sitting down, nearly fell over as James pulled a silvery cloak from the very bottom of his trunk. "Th-That's an....."

"Invisibility cloak..." Remus finished, staring at it in stunned disbelief.

"We can get out with that! We can do anything with that!" Sirius yelled, overjoyed. He paused in his happy tirade, "But Jamsie, why didn't you tell me about it. I'm hurt that you would hide such a helpful prank aid all year!"

James rolled his eyes at this. Sirius was never 'hurt', at least not to the extent that he always tried to make you believe.

"It doesn't matter. On with the plotting!"

Sirius blinked a few times, wondering if it were some sort of spasm...everyone's eyes seemed to roll up into their head when he spoke. Leaving these insane thoughts behind, Sirius rubbed his hands together in characteristic glee at the prospect of plotting something.

"Agreed!"

The four discussed the options of how to get out of the common room unnoticed. Even if they were invisible, James reminded, they were still quite solid. They batted back and forth several ideas, the least of them not being lighting a chair on fire, or covering the entire common room in a sticky Muggle substance, enticingly called, 'Super Glue', (this was Sirius's favorite idea, of course), before deciding on a few Fillibuster Fireworks with Dungbombs attached. Peter was reluctant on facing Julian again, but he was quickly overruled and the plan was complete.

-

"Ouch...that was my toe!"

Lily spun around to stare at the empty space behind her. Didn't someone just say something? She stared at the spot for a few minutes before turning back to her friends.

"Did any of you hear that?"

Alice and Allysia shook their heads. "No."

"Hear what?" Lizz questioned, with one eyebrow raised.

Lily shook her head and dismissed it. "Nothing."

-

The four Marauders let out the breath they had been holding, and Peter received a glare from the other three. They shuffled along a little farther until they were in the middle of the room, it was less crowded over there and didn't run constant risk of running into someone.

As silently as they possibly could, James and Remus pulled the fireworks and Dungbombs out of their pockets.

"On three..." James whispered, pulling his wand out to light them.

"Right," Remus replied, doing the same.

"One..." James muttered. "Two..."

"THREE!" Sirius yelled, jubilantly throwing open the box he had been carrying since he had arrived back from detention. Hamsters, magically charmed purple, spilled out onto the floor and scurried quickly for cover. The cover they chose ranged from under the couch, to up people's cloaks, which caused quite a bit of distress to the girls who were mortally afraid of mice.

James and Remus quickly set off their fireworks to add to the confusion. As the fireworks whizzed overhead; the Dungbombs, set alight from the sparks, were promptly slung everywhere.

Exactly what the Marauders planned, happened- complete and utter mayhem. Not one person noticed when the portrait hole quietly opened, and then swung back shut.

-

It was a rather awkward task for the four boys to shuffle down the corridors and stay under the invisibility cloak at the same time, but somehow they managed it.

They inched past Peeves, who was hanging upside-down in midair whilst haphazardly setting it up, so that several suits of armor would fall over onto the next unfortunate passerby.

"Let's listen in on the teachers," Sirius whispered excitedly, and pointed toward where Professor Sprout had just disappeared into the teachers' lounge.

"Well..." James shoved his glasses back on; they had been knocked askew when Sirius had pointed.

Remus hissing in his ear interrupted James, "Resist all temptation! We're lucky we haven't been caught so far. We don't need to walk into the middle of a teachers' meeting!"

"It won't hurt, we'll just listen at the door," Sirius coaxed.

"Or, we could just go back to Gryffindor tower and play exploding snap..." Peter suggested, looking hopeful, but at the same time, resigned to his fate- there was no chance the others would ever agree in a million years.

"Just a quick listen," James announced finally. "Sirius is right, it won't hurt anything."

With that decided, the four Marauders crept up to the door and strained to hear the conversation inside.

-

"Honestly!" Professor McGonagall's stifled voice drifted, in snatches, through the door, "There's nothing to be done till the students leave for Christmas holidays tomorrow."

"You have a fine point, Minerva," answered Dumbledore's voice, "There will be no more talk of closing the school, until it has been decided just how serious this is, and that can not be done until most of the students are away for us to search the castle thoroughly."

The four boys shuffled away quickly as the teachers exited the office. As soon as Professor Hikage's dark cloak swished around the corner and out of sight, they began a hurriedly whispered conversation.

"What's he mean, 'close the school'?" Sirius asked, horrorstruck.

"They won't close it, they can't close it!" Peter insisted, in a strangely high voice. "My mum would be so upset, after all that time of fretting whether I would get in or not!"

Remus merely shook his head, muttering something repeatedly under his breath, which sounded like, "I told mum it was too good to be true..."

"We'll just have to go on towards the dungeons," James announced, beckoning the others to keep together, lest the invisibility cloak should slip off.

They continued on their way a while farther, the air getting colder as they traveled deeper into the dungeons with each step.

Not a word was said when Remus jumped at the sound of a mouse scampering past. Nor when Peter sneezed and scared them all. They kept steadily going forward till they were sure they were well out of harms way, at least where detentions were concerned, and only then did James whip off his invisibility cloak to allow them a bit more freedom of movement.

After this, they continued walking down into the dungeons without speaking.

Peter was contemplating making a run for it, why on earth had he agreed to come?

Remus was pondering along a similar line, but he was trying to decide on the best argument on why they should all go back.

James felt as if he were about to scream if it got any quieter, when Sirius suddenly dealt with the tense situation as he always dealt with such predicaments: By becoming louder and more obnoxious than usual.

Everyone stared at him as he began to sing one of the more popular songs of wizard radio, at the top of his lungs, and purposefully off key.

"Endlessly Confunded by yooooou….."

"Will you shut up?" James yelled, covering his ears in an attempt to help his eardrums remain in tact.

Sirius merely increased the volume of his 'singing'.

"Make it stop..." Pleaded Peter, taking refuge behind James.

"I swear I'll owl your mum and dad if you don't shut up!" Remus yelled, in a similar position of covering his ears like James.

Immediately, Sirius stopped singing, looking rather puzzled, "What'd you do?"

Remus stared at Sirius, incomprehension evident on his face, "What?"

They were all staring at Sirius now, for it seemed Remus's threats weren't what caused him to quit badgering their eardrums.

Sirius blinked and glanced around, shivering, "Why'd the temperature drop?"

"I don't know," Remus answered sarcastically "Could it be we're under the castle, maybe?"

It took a moment, but soon the other three boys realized what Sirius was talking about. It wasn't as if the temperature had dropped more than it already had, it was more like the cold chill you get when you feel something bad is about to happen. The first stinging instinct of fear as it tiptoes up your spine, the fine hair on your arms standing to attention.

"What's going on?" Peter questioned fearfully. As the feeling of impending doom became more prominent, he backed away towards where they had come, more and more quickly.

James shook his head, unable to come up with an answer for his friend.

"Anyone know any good spells?" Sirius asked, in an attempt at a lighthearted tone.

Mouthing wordlessly, Remus pointed down the corridor, where a small girl had appeared from the shadows. She had on a wide brimmed hat and a frilly dress, nothing in her appearance was remotely menacing.

"Run..." Remus muttered, staring at the small girl.

"What...why?" James turned to stare at Remus, as the pale boy's eyes widened in fear.

"Doesn't matter what something looks like..." Remus trailed off, the girl was slowly lifting her head, and eyes that were once hidden, were coming into view, revealed to be glowing an unearthly red.


- Jade-chan