Chapter 5: A Slight Problem...Or Is It?
Harry awoke the next morning, only it wasn't exactly morning. It was about 5:30 in the morning, and it was just now getting lighter outside. Nobody was up. Harry could hear someone snoring, and thought, 'How can they sleep at night?' He swung his legs over the bed, and walked down to the common room. He sat on the couch nearest to the fire, and just somewhat stared into the flames.
It seemed like it had only been about 10 minutes, when everyone finally started getting up. The common room was lit by the sunlight, and the Gryffindor students continued flooding down the stairs. He hadn't noticed until he felt someone else on the couch. "So, 'Ron Weasley,' how'd you sleep?" James asked, sitting next to Harry. "Just fine." He responded almost automatically. "Really? Funny, you sounded like you were talking all night long. More like muttering. Who's Cedric, anyway? And what were you saying about Sirius?" he asked.
"Answering your questions in order. Cedric is...was a guy at my school. And Sirius isn't just the name belonging to your best friend. I was talking about somebody else, anyway." Harry responded quickly, not daring to look up. He knew if he did, James would tell that he was lying, and then there would have been a problem.
"You should be getting to class, then." James said, before getting up. "I'm not going, and you can't make me." Harry said coldly. James froze. "You're cutting classes? Do you know how much trouble you'd be in if one of the teachers found out?" James asked. 'Why would he care?' Harry thought. "I dunno, I just don't think I should. Actually, do you really want to go to class?" Harry asked him. "No. I have a test in Transfiguration today, and I know I'm gonna fail, because I haven't been paying any attention to McGonagall at all." James said sadly. "Well, D---James, I think I can help you out there. What month is it again?" Harry asked him. "It's November." James answered. "Okay, well, everyone else says it, and I've taken the exact same test, and I passed. How would you like me to take the test for you?" Harry asked, grinning. James looked at him blankly, and then he nodded. "Great, I'm going to need some of your robes, though."
Harry followed James up to the dormitory, and James rummaged through his trunk, trying to find a clean set of robes, and then...success! He found them! Harry put them on, and then headed down towards the common room with James. "Ron's going to take the test for me." James explained to his 3 friends. "Wow, James, I wish I had someone who looked just like me," Sirius said to him. "Well, I'll tell you, Sirius, there is no reason for you to be that happy. He's a temporary replacement, and besides, I could hardly sleep last night." James said happily glancing over at 'Ron'.
James went to breakfast as himself, but Harry went to all of his classes for him. Finally, Transfiguration came up, and Harry looked at the test. He immediately finished the test, and wouldn't look up at McGonagall, because he knew she would figure it out by his eyes.
James was impressed by all of Harry's accomplishments at the end of the day. "Yeah, sure, anytime...almost." Harry said quietly. James smiled and continued to sit on the couch with 'Ron'. Lily entered and said, "So, James, how do you think you did on your test?" Lily said happily. James glanced over at his partner in crime. "I would think I probably passed." He said quickly. "You sure you passed?" She asked, glancing from James to Harry, and then back to James. "Of course, I passed. Who could possibly take my place and finish my test for me?" "Well, possibly the fact that you're not wearing your robes and your new buddy Ron is..." Lily's voice trailed off. "Well—uh...actually..." "'Well, uh actually' nothing! He took your test, didn't he?" Lily asked. James nodded. "I thought so. Oh well, nice use of twin." Lily said calmly.
That night, the Marauders stayed up talking. "I dunno what it is. There's just something strange about that 'Weasley' kid. He claims to be a Weasley, but out of all the Weasleys I know, they have red hair. His is black." James said. Remus, Sirius, and Peter nodded. "Well, we shall know his real name soon, won't we?" James said mischievously, pulling the Marauders' Map from his pocket. "'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.'"
Everyone stared blankly at the map, surprised by the name on it. "But that's impossible. If his name is Harry, and his last name's Potter, and he looks just like me, then..." James said. "Maybe he's just your cousin." Peter suggested. Everyone looked over at Peter. "What?" he said innocently. "Well, all I know is that kid's got lots of explaining to do." James concluded.
James walked up the stairs to the dormitory, and sat down on Harry's bed. Putting his hand on his shoulder, he shook it, first softly, then violently until he finally saw a sign of life. "Ron, I told you already, it's Saturday, there are no classes. Besides, who said that you are supposed to wake me up?" Harry asked groggily before turning around to see his intruder. As soon as he saw James, Harry's shoulders backed down like he was some sort of wounded animal.
"Ron, I couldn't sleep. I was wondering. Who are your parents?" James asked. Harry thought for a moment. Then he finally came up with two names. "Hermione and Bill Weasley." He said casually. James looked at him for a minute and then said, "Well, what happened to them?" Harry looked off into the distance, and then said, "They died. When I was a baby. I don't remember them at all." He looked almost upset at James' question.
"I'm sorry I asked. But I just wanted an answer, you know? I mean, I know a few people without parents." James said. Then the thought hit him, 'If I'm this kid's father, and he says they died, then that must mean...oh God, I'm gonna die!! I'm too young for that.' "Where did you come from, anyway?" James asked. Harry thought for a moment. "From a school in...Australia." James looked at him. "When I was a baby, my parents died, so I got brought up by my aunt and her husband, Ginny and Dean Thomas," Harry lied. 'If there had ever been such a big lie like that that had ever come out of my mouth, I'd love to hear it.' Harry thought. "Well, I'm sure you'd like to get back to bed, so uh...g'night." James said quietly.
James waited until he was absolutely sure that Harry was sleeping, and then made his way downstairs. "He says that he's from Australia, was brought up by his aunt and uncle, Ginny and Dean Thomas, when his parents Bill and Hermione Weasley died when he was a baby." James said when he saw his friends sitting around the fire. "God, he's a good liar." Remus said.
"Yeah, I know. It does all fit. Now, we need the real truth. We need to get him to tell us the truth. Now, who do we know who can get the truth out of anyone?" Sirius said. As if on cue, Lily came walking down the stairs, still practically rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What are you psychos doing up at this hour? Shouldn't you be in bed?" She asked groggily, her head flopping over the chair. All the boys were looking at her, grinning. "What do you want now?" she asked them, as she closed her eyes. "Lily, you are pretty convincing, right?" James asked her. "If that's what you would call it, which you obviously do, then yes." She answered. "Well, we were wondering if you could ask Ha—Ron about his parents and his little family history and...all that good stuff." James asked pleadingly. "Will you go to sleep, then?" Lily asked exasperatedly. "Yes." The four boys chorused. "Fine. I'll try. But if it doesn't work, then don't come crawling to me for more help on your little...scandal." "Gotcha." Said Sirius. The four boys walked up the steps, not being able to wait for the following day when they would get their answers that they wanted.
It struck Lily as odd that James couldn't pry something off someone he was obviously just using to get good marks. 'He probably doesn't even care about the poor guy.' Lily thought. "Well, I better get to bed. I'm going to have to get some good answers tomorrow." She said to herself.
The next morning, the boys were more restless than ever. Well, four of them were at least. Harry refused to get up out of bed, because he was absolutely too tired to go and do anything. "Ron, get up. If you don't get up...then...you'll miss...a wonderful day of school." James said pleadingly. He needed answers. "Come on, get up!!!" Finally, James just got sick of it and left. About 15 minutes later, he came back with a cup of cold water, and dumped it over Harry's head.
Harry jumped out of bed, so fast that you would have thought there was a horrible emergency. "Come on, it's time for another day of my school." James said. Harry once again used James' robes, and walked down toward the Great Hall. He instinctively sat by Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, because he knew nobody else. Three of the Marauders left breakfast early, and walked on toward the Library.
That left Harry and Lily sitting at one end of the table. Lily turned toward Harry. "So...who are your parents, anyway?" Lily asked. Harry seemed hesitant to answer, but when Lily gave him a sad- looking face, he said without thinking, "You and J-" but he caught himself before saying anything else. Lily looked at him expectantly. "Me...and...?" Harry swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "You and James." Lily looked as though she understood. "So...what's your real name 'Ron Weasley...' Come on, did you actually think that James would miss that?" Lily said. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you everything. But not here. Later. Tonight. Okay? Bye."
A few hours later, James and Lily met up in the hallway. "So?" James asked before he passed her. "He says his parents are...you...and..." she paused. ":::cough:::m-:::cough:::e:::me:::" Lily said difficultly.
Later that night, Harry waited for Lily on the chair by the fire. At last, she showed up. "Okay, I'll spill. My name is Harry Potter. I was born July 31st, and I was raised by Petunia and Vernon Dursley. You and James got murdered when I was a baby, by Voldemort. I hated the way my life was going because you, James, and Sirius were all dead, so I snuck into Dumbledore's office, stole his Time Turner, came here, and that's all I think you really need to know, along with the fact that...God, I REALLY miss my owl. I haven't seen her for a week since before I came here. And I also have a sleeping and eating disorder. But thanks for your time. Goodnight." He concluded before going upstairs and flopping onto his bed.
James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius snuck off a half-hour later, and went down to the common room, sitting by Lily on the hearth rug. She told them everything. She couldn't believe that her sister and her husband raised her own son to be anorexic and an insomniac. They boys all looked horror-struck. "I can see why he'd want to come back here. I'd want to leave my own time, too, if I had that many problems." James said sadly. After all the truth had been spilled, the 5 students went back up to the dormitories. The Marauders just sat on Peter's bed, speechless. "I wonder why he wouldn't tell us the truth." Remus said all of a sudden.
"All I know, is I think I'm going to do all my own classes from now on, good marks or not, he needs sleep." James said, as if it were going to be practically hopeless.
Harry awoke the next morning, only it wasn't exactly morning. It was about 5:30 in the morning, and it was just now getting lighter outside. Nobody was up. Harry could hear someone snoring, and thought, 'How can they sleep at night?' He swung his legs over the bed, and walked down to the common room. He sat on the couch nearest to the fire, and just somewhat stared into the flames.
It seemed like it had only been about 10 minutes, when everyone finally started getting up. The common room was lit by the sunlight, and the Gryffindor students continued flooding down the stairs. He hadn't noticed until he felt someone else on the couch. "So, 'Ron Weasley,' how'd you sleep?" James asked, sitting next to Harry. "Just fine." He responded almost automatically. "Really? Funny, you sounded like you were talking all night long. More like muttering. Who's Cedric, anyway? And what were you saying about Sirius?" he asked.
"Answering your questions in order. Cedric is...was a guy at my school. And Sirius isn't just the name belonging to your best friend. I was talking about somebody else, anyway." Harry responded quickly, not daring to look up. He knew if he did, James would tell that he was lying, and then there would have been a problem.
"You should be getting to class, then." James said, before getting up. "I'm not going, and you can't make me." Harry said coldly. James froze. "You're cutting classes? Do you know how much trouble you'd be in if one of the teachers found out?" James asked. 'Why would he care?' Harry thought. "I dunno, I just don't think I should. Actually, do you really want to go to class?" Harry asked him. "No. I have a test in Transfiguration today, and I know I'm gonna fail, because I haven't been paying any attention to McGonagall at all." James said sadly. "Well, D---James, I think I can help you out there. What month is it again?" Harry asked him. "It's November." James answered. "Okay, well, everyone else says it, and I've taken the exact same test, and I passed. How would you like me to take the test for you?" Harry asked, grinning. James looked at him blankly, and then he nodded. "Great, I'm going to need some of your robes, though."
Harry followed James up to the dormitory, and James rummaged through his trunk, trying to find a clean set of robes, and then...success! He found them! Harry put them on, and then headed down towards the common room with James. "Ron's going to take the test for me." James explained to his 3 friends. "Wow, James, I wish I had someone who looked just like me," Sirius said to him. "Well, I'll tell you, Sirius, there is no reason for you to be that happy. He's a temporary replacement, and besides, I could hardly sleep last night." James said happily glancing over at 'Ron'.
James went to breakfast as himself, but Harry went to all of his classes for him. Finally, Transfiguration came up, and Harry looked at the test. He immediately finished the test, and wouldn't look up at McGonagall, because he knew she would figure it out by his eyes.
James was impressed by all of Harry's accomplishments at the end of the day. "Yeah, sure, anytime...almost." Harry said quietly. James smiled and continued to sit on the couch with 'Ron'. Lily entered and said, "So, James, how do you think you did on your test?" Lily said happily. James glanced over at his partner in crime. "I would think I probably passed." He said quickly. "You sure you passed?" She asked, glancing from James to Harry, and then back to James. "Of course, I passed. Who could possibly take my place and finish my test for me?" "Well, possibly the fact that you're not wearing your robes and your new buddy Ron is..." Lily's voice trailed off. "Well—uh...actually..." "'Well, uh actually' nothing! He took your test, didn't he?" Lily asked. James nodded. "I thought so. Oh well, nice use of twin." Lily said calmly.
That night, the Marauders stayed up talking. "I dunno what it is. There's just something strange about that 'Weasley' kid. He claims to be a Weasley, but out of all the Weasleys I know, they have red hair. His is black." James said. Remus, Sirius, and Peter nodded. "Well, we shall know his real name soon, won't we?" James said mischievously, pulling the Marauders' Map from his pocket. "'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.'"
Everyone stared blankly at the map, surprised by the name on it. "But that's impossible. If his name is Harry, and his last name's Potter, and he looks just like me, then..." James said. "Maybe he's just your cousin." Peter suggested. Everyone looked over at Peter. "What?" he said innocently. "Well, all I know is that kid's got lots of explaining to do." James concluded.
James walked up the stairs to the dormitory, and sat down on Harry's bed. Putting his hand on his shoulder, he shook it, first softly, then violently until he finally saw a sign of life. "Ron, I told you already, it's Saturday, there are no classes. Besides, who said that you are supposed to wake me up?" Harry asked groggily before turning around to see his intruder. As soon as he saw James, Harry's shoulders backed down like he was some sort of wounded animal.
"Ron, I couldn't sleep. I was wondering. Who are your parents?" James asked. Harry thought for a moment. Then he finally came up with two names. "Hermione and Bill Weasley." He said casually. James looked at him for a minute and then said, "Well, what happened to them?" Harry looked off into the distance, and then said, "They died. When I was a baby. I don't remember them at all." He looked almost upset at James' question.
"I'm sorry I asked. But I just wanted an answer, you know? I mean, I know a few people without parents." James said. Then the thought hit him, 'If I'm this kid's father, and he says they died, then that must mean...oh God, I'm gonna die!! I'm too young for that.' "Where did you come from, anyway?" James asked. Harry thought for a moment. "From a school in...Australia." James looked at him. "When I was a baby, my parents died, so I got brought up by my aunt and her husband, Ginny and Dean Thomas," Harry lied. 'If there had ever been such a big lie like that that had ever come out of my mouth, I'd love to hear it.' Harry thought. "Well, I'm sure you'd like to get back to bed, so uh...g'night." James said quietly.
James waited until he was absolutely sure that Harry was sleeping, and then made his way downstairs. "He says that he's from Australia, was brought up by his aunt and uncle, Ginny and Dean Thomas, when his parents Bill and Hermione Weasley died when he was a baby." James said when he saw his friends sitting around the fire. "God, he's a good liar." Remus said.
"Yeah, I know. It does all fit. Now, we need the real truth. We need to get him to tell us the truth. Now, who do we know who can get the truth out of anyone?" Sirius said. As if on cue, Lily came walking down the stairs, still practically rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What are you psychos doing up at this hour? Shouldn't you be in bed?" She asked groggily, her head flopping over the chair. All the boys were looking at her, grinning. "What do you want now?" she asked them, as she closed her eyes. "Lily, you are pretty convincing, right?" James asked her. "If that's what you would call it, which you obviously do, then yes." She answered. "Well, we were wondering if you could ask Ha—Ron about his parents and his little family history and...all that good stuff." James asked pleadingly. "Will you go to sleep, then?" Lily asked exasperatedly. "Yes." The four boys chorused. "Fine. I'll try. But if it doesn't work, then don't come crawling to me for more help on your little...scandal." "Gotcha." Said Sirius. The four boys walked up the steps, not being able to wait for the following day when they would get their answers that they wanted.
It struck Lily as odd that James couldn't pry something off someone he was obviously just using to get good marks. 'He probably doesn't even care about the poor guy.' Lily thought. "Well, I better get to bed. I'm going to have to get some good answers tomorrow." She said to herself.
The next morning, the boys were more restless than ever. Well, four of them were at least. Harry refused to get up out of bed, because he was absolutely too tired to go and do anything. "Ron, get up. If you don't get up...then...you'll miss...a wonderful day of school." James said pleadingly. He needed answers. "Come on, get up!!!" Finally, James just got sick of it and left. About 15 minutes later, he came back with a cup of cold water, and dumped it over Harry's head.
Harry jumped out of bed, so fast that you would have thought there was a horrible emergency. "Come on, it's time for another day of my school." James said. Harry once again used James' robes, and walked down toward the Great Hall. He instinctively sat by Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, because he knew nobody else. Three of the Marauders left breakfast early, and walked on toward the Library.
That left Harry and Lily sitting at one end of the table. Lily turned toward Harry. "So...who are your parents, anyway?" Lily asked. Harry seemed hesitant to answer, but when Lily gave him a sad- looking face, he said without thinking, "You and J-" but he caught himself before saying anything else. Lily looked at him expectantly. "Me...and...?" Harry swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "You and James." Lily looked as though she understood. "So...what's your real name 'Ron Weasley...' Come on, did you actually think that James would miss that?" Lily said. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you everything. But not here. Later. Tonight. Okay? Bye."
A few hours later, James and Lily met up in the hallway. "So?" James asked before he passed her. "He says his parents are...you...and..." she paused. ":::cough:::m-:::cough:::e:::me:::" Lily said difficultly.
Later that night, Harry waited for Lily on the chair by the fire. At last, she showed up. "Okay, I'll spill. My name is Harry Potter. I was born July 31st, and I was raised by Petunia and Vernon Dursley. You and James got murdered when I was a baby, by Voldemort. I hated the way my life was going because you, James, and Sirius were all dead, so I snuck into Dumbledore's office, stole his Time Turner, came here, and that's all I think you really need to know, along with the fact that...God, I REALLY miss my owl. I haven't seen her for a week since before I came here. And I also have a sleeping and eating disorder. But thanks for your time. Goodnight." He concluded before going upstairs and flopping onto his bed.
James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius snuck off a half-hour later, and went down to the common room, sitting by Lily on the hearth rug. She told them everything. She couldn't believe that her sister and her husband raised her own son to be anorexic and an insomniac. They boys all looked horror-struck. "I can see why he'd want to come back here. I'd want to leave my own time, too, if I had that many problems." James said sadly. After all the truth had been spilled, the 5 students went back up to the dormitories. The Marauders just sat on Peter's bed, speechless. "I wonder why he wouldn't tell us the truth." Remus said all of a sudden.
"All I know, is I think I'm going to do all my own classes from now on, good marks or not, he needs sleep." James said, as if it were going to be practically hopeless.