A/N: Okay you guys, sorry this took so long and that its so short, but I've
had a German exchange staying with me for ten days, and that's meant pretty
much zilch fanfic for me. Thanks for all your reviews, I know I set you a
stiff target, and I'm going to be posting a few more chapters this week
probably in all of my stories cos its gonna be half term, so I'll have time
to type them all. Well, after your long wait, here it is. Enjoy!
"I really hate that cat" Sirius growled one afternoon as he stormed into the Gryffindor common room and threw his bag violently into the wall, where it slithered down to join his friends' in an untidy heap on the floor.
James sighed, looking up at his friend from his complicated Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. This year, his friend's outbursts of emotion had started to seem very childish, especially compared to Harry's quiet determination and Remus's conscientiousness.
Did he really want to know what had set off this one? It was probably just another temper tantrum, but then again, this might be the first one with serious consequences.
"What is it this time?" James asked, deciding it was better to know, so then he could try his best to restrain Sirius from doing something they'd both regret.
Sirius looked over at him, only just noticing that he was sitting there. He was scowling, his black eyebrows shadowing his dark eyes and his face was flushed.
"All I was doing was looking for Professor Carpenter to ask her about my Herbology essay. It wasn't after curfew, then anyway, it is now. I had the Map out to help, but that cat saw me and Filch came and confiscated it! I wasn't doing anything wrong except being a good student!"
"Did you wipe it? If they find out what we've been doing, or worse about Harry. . ."
"I'm hardly stupid, Prongs!" James groaned inwardly; it was going to be one of those times when Sirius wouldn't listen to anyone.
"Then what the hell do you expect me to do about it? I'm not making another map now - it took months and we've memorized everything on it anyway."
"I want us to HEX THAT DAMN CAT!!!! Turn it green, for all I care, but just do something to teach it a lesson. I don't care about being caught out of hours, but when I'm allowed to be out, it's too much, far too much!"
"I'll find the others," James agreed reluctantly, knowing that the only possible way to calm Sirius down when he was in this mood would be to do something about it.
They were working at their Transfiguration essays and refused to do anything else until they finished. James and Sirius supposedly had to do them too, but they hadn't started yet and couldn't' care less now that they had a prank in hand. Anyway, Defense Against the Dark Arts fitted in much higher on their agenda.
"Just us then," James said, going smoothly into Marauder mode. "Point 1 is that we can't be seen. If the cat sees us, it'll tell Filch and we'll get detention, you know how much he hates us. Point 2 - it can't be too obvious to Filch either, or he'll just blame us, with or without evidence."
"Okay, okay," Sirius agreed, looking visibly calmer already. "I get the message. I won't turn the damn animal green. I'll. . . I'll . . . fix a charm to its tail, so that she hears a dog barking just behind her whenever she sees Filch coming. That'll stop them in their tracks for a while."
"Great idea, so you won't be needing me at all then, will you? I mean, not a lot more that I can do. You can take my Invisibility Cloak and go and do it now, if you want. As soon as you get back, you can try and get Moony's Transfiguration essay off him and start working on it."
Sirius grinned, knowing how often he'd had to borrow his friends' work the night before work was due in.
"Thanks Prongs," he said, and James watched as he swirled the cloak theatrically around him and vanished.
That was Sirius's main problem, James thought sadly. If he learned to stop and control his emotions, who knew what he could achieve. Harry, on the other hand, controlled his far too well. Sometimes it was like looking at a brick wall for all the information it gave you.
The next time James saw Filch's cat, it was tearing desperately down the corridors without a thought for anyone else, as though a whole pack of about fifty rabid dogs was after it.
A/N: You've had the chapter, now R+R?
"I really hate that cat" Sirius growled one afternoon as he stormed into the Gryffindor common room and threw his bag violently into the wall, where it slithered down to join his friends' in an untidy heap on the floor.
James sighed, looking up at his friend from his complicated Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. This year, his friend's outbursts of emotion had started to seem very childish, especially compared to Harry's quiet determination and Remus's conscientiousness.
Did he really want to know what had set off this one? It was probably just another temper tantrum, but then again, this might be the first one with serious consequences.
"What is it this time?" James asked, deciding it was better to know, so then he could try his best to restrain Sirius from doing something they'd both regret.
Sirius looked over at him, only just noticing that he was sitting there. He was scowling, his black eyebrows shadowing his dark eyes and his face was flushed.
"All I was doing was looking for Professor Carpenter to ask her about my Herbology essay. It wasn't after curfew, then anyway, it is now. I had the Map out to help, but that cat saw me and Filch came and confiscated it! I wasn't doing anything wrong except being a good student!"
"Did you wipe it? If they find out what we've been doing, or worse about Harry. . ."
"I'm hardly stupid, Prongs!" James groaned inwardly; it was going to be one of those times when Sirius wouldn't listen to anyone.
"Then what the hell do you expect me to do about it? I'm not making another map now - it took months and we've memorized everything on it anyway."
"I want us to HEX THAT DAMN CAT!!!! Turn it green, for all I care, but just do something to teach it a lesson. I don't care about being caught out of hours, but when I'm allowed to be out, it's too much, far too much!"
"I'll find the others," James agreed reluctantly, knowing that the only possible way to calm Sirius down when he was in this mood would be to do something about it.
They were working at their Transfiguration essays and refused to do anything else until they finished. James and Sirius supposedly had to do them too, but they hadn't started yet and couldn't' care less now that they had a prank in hand. Anyway, Defense Against the Dark Arts fitted in much higher on their agenda.
"Just us then," James said, going smoothly into Marauder mode. "Point 1 is that we can't be seen. If the cat sees us, it'll tell Filch and we'll get detention, you know how much he hates us. Point 2 - it can't be too obvious to Filch either, or he'll just blame us, with or without evidence."
"Okay, okay," Sirius agreed, looking visibly calmer already. "I get the message. I won't turn the damn animal green. I'll. . . I'll . . . fix a charm to its tail, so that she hears a dog barking just behind her whenever she sees Filch coming. That'll stop them in their tracks for a while."
"Great idea, so you won't be needing me at all then, will you? I mean, not a lot more that I can do. You can take my Invisibility Cloak and go and do it now, if you want. As soon as you get back, you can try and get Moony's Transfiguration essay off him and start working on it."
Sirius grinned, knowing how often he'd had to borrow his friends' work the night before work was due in.
"Thanks Prongs," he said, and James watched as he swirled the cloak theatrically around him and vanished.
That was Sirius's main problem, James thought sadly. If he learned to stop and control his emotions, who knew what he could achieve. Harry, on the other hand, controlled his far too well. Sometimes it was like looking at a brick wall for all the information it gave you.
The next time James saw Filch's cat, it was tearing desperately down the corridors without a thought for anyone else, as though a whole pack of about fifty rabid dogs was after it.
A/N: You've had the chapter, now R+R?