A/N: Here's the next chapter. Just one point this time: a lot of you
thought I was too easy on Snape last chapter. Now that I think about it, I
probably was, but Professor Serdaigle (does anyone other than Sasi know
where I got the name from?) is a very easy going teacher and he was too
surprised to do much when it happened. Further punishment from Dumbledore
probably did follow, like a formal warning, but I haven't documented it in
the story itself. I really welcome all of your comments though, cos they
help me to improve. That means that it helps you to get better fics if it
helps me to write them - so REVIEW PLEASE!!!!
"Harry!" Lily called from the portrait hole of the Gryffindor common room. Harry, sitting in a corner hurriedly doing his Potions essay, looked up and waved to her. She came over, stepping anxiously from one foot to the other. "Have you seen James Potter anywhere? Is he with the others?" Harry thought hard for a moment, running mentally back over his schedule.
"No, not since Transfiguration anyway, and we have that with you. Why do you ask? Is he in trouble with someone?"
"He said he'd meet me here about five minutes ago. Normal he's always on time for a date, usually early, actually. I wondered if anything might have happened to him, if he'd got detention perhaps. He gets it often enough."
"He's not with any of us," Harry said confidently. "The others are all over there. Do you want me to have a look for him? Its possible he's just forgotten."
"Not James - not a date, at any rate."
"I'll look then."
"Thanks, can I help at all?
"Sure."
Harry shoved his things back into his bag, throwing it carelessly over against the wall, out of the way of everyone else. He pulled his wand from the back pocket of the jeans he was wearing under his robes - he couldn't care less about Moody's 'elementary wand safety'.
"Quaero James!" he said firmly, holding it out and balancing it perfectly in mid air. They watched as it spun around madly. Eventually, it stopped, pointing downwards slightly to the north. "He's down from here then, come on Evans."
They pounded down a flight of stairs, that thankfully kept going the right way for once, and repeated the spell. After checking their result, they continued down again. Here the wand remained horizontal, pointed directly towards what Harry at least knew was the entrance to the Slytherin common room.
"Uh oh," Harry said, immediately worried.
"He won't just be pranking them?"
"Not at this time and not without telling any of us. Its one of the first rules - you need someone to bail you out if you need it. I'll call the others, there's no way we can take on all of the Slytherins by ourselves. Accio Sirius! Accio Peter! Accio Remus!"
The three boys came charging down a few seconds later, towed frantically by their wands. At last they skidded to a stop, panting. Sirius glared at Harry.
"There are far more comfortable ways of calling us," he snapped irritably. "What is it? It had better be good, cos my Charms essay was due half and hour ago."
"James is in there," Harry said, not getting at all angry, pointing towards the glowering portrait. Sirius became deadly serious at once and Harry continued. "I wasn't about to go in there with just Lily, she might have got hurt."
"I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you Harry Jamiesion!"
"I know, but you're not used to the same sort of things that I am and two against the whole of Slytherin is not good odds. Peter, will you try to get the Dark Knight to let us in? He likes you much better than he likes the rest of us."
Peter nodded and went over to talk to the portrait, looking grim but proud and determined at being given such an important task. After what seemed like an age to Harry and the others, he beckoned them over to the entrance.
"He doesn't like us coming in at all, but he does want us to get James out. His opinion is that the Slytherin common room is no place for a Gryffindor under any circumstances and that they were wrong to take him there. He didn't comment about Slytherins in the Gryffindor common room."
"Well done Peter," Harry said encouraging. "Just stick to the subject, remember that the longer we take, the more harm might be done to James. And thank you for your assistance, Sir Knight. Now, first thing is to get James out of there and up to Madam Pomfrey if necessary. Go for the Slytherins only to achieve that, don't aim to hex them or hurt them unless they attack first. We don't want to ruin our good reputation with the Knight for this, do we? Ready everyone?"
They raised their wands and crept silently through the now open portrait hole. It did not look good. James had been slammed roughly up against the opposite wall, bound by heavy iron chains that were not part of the usual décor and had probably been conjured on the spot by one of the older boys. A crowd that appeared to include every one of the Slytherin boys and a good number of the girls had gathered around him.
If James noticed his friends' presence at all, indeed if he was in any condition to notice them, he gave no sign of it. Blood was oozing slowly from a deep cut on his forehead, and one eye was starting to swell and go puffy.
"Liberato!" shouted Harry through the noise and the chains snapped open. James toppled forwards. The Slytherins spun round, surprised by the largely unfamiliar voice. The Gryffindors let off a series of harmless curses, jinxes and hexes so that Peter and Lily were able to run in and help James out in the confusion.
As soon as he was safely out, Sirius, Harry and Remus retreated slowly, then ran from the common room, pushing the portrait firmly shut behind him. Remus stayed there holding it while the others gathered around James.
Sirius and Harry, the two tallest and strongest of them since James was out of action, picked up their friend and carried him between them to the hospital wing, since he appeared to be unconscious. The others followed on anxiously.
"The Slytherins were picking on him, Madam Pomfrey!" Sirius retorted glibly, answering the matron's question. He looked righteously outraged and angry. This was probably out of practice, although at least he was telling the truth this time. "We had to go and get him out, we're his friends and we couldn't just leave him there being beaten up, could we?"
"You know what the Headmaster has to say about fighting, young man," she said sternly. Obviously she knew the Marauders' reputation all too well.
"We didn't fight them except in self-defense. Ask the Dark Knight, he saw us. He was the one that let us in to get James, after all, so he believes us."
"You can be sure that I'll be telling Professor Dumbledore about this anyway. I'm half considering keeping you in the hospital wing tonight, Potter."
James, who'd come around quickly once rescued, looked horror struck at the very idea.
"Oh please," he protested. "I'm fine, really I am. It doesn't hurt at all, and I'm sure it would be a bother for you to have me here all night when I don't need to stay really. . ."
"Hmm," Madam Pomfrey said somewhat dubiously, but then she had quite enough to deal with considering the measles outbreak among the first years - it seemed to be the exception to the rule that Muggle diseases don't affect wizards. The infirmary beds were all full, in fact. "Well, all right, but you have to come back tomorrow and I'll change your dressings.
James mumbled something that was probably agreement and limped back to join the others.
"Thank you Lily," he said, eyes almost glowing, cheeks definitely glowing. "If it wasn't for you, I'd still be there."
"Are you sure you're okay?" his girlfriend asked anxiously, no more deceived than the nurse. "You don't look it."
"I am, I am."
"Anyway, don't be so silly James. All that I did was notice that you were missing. It was Harry that organized everything else and told us what to do."
"Harry said it was you that got him going and I'm eternally grateful to you, Wizard's Debt."
"Not for something like that James!" Lily said, sounding horrified. "How about you give me some Transfiguration coaching this evening, you're far better than any of your friends at it, so they wouldn't have to come along."
"Okay," he replied, quickly realizing what she was getting at.
"Come on James," Sirius interrupted; James scowled at him. "What shall we do to pay them back?"
"Grow up Sirius!" Lily snapped. "You started it. It's getting ridiculous, why hate the Slytherins so much? They aren't that bad, and Severus is okay."
"Snivellus is most definitely not okay! You know what they did to me when I was Sorted into Gryffindor. It was their fault that I had to run away from home last summer so I didn't have to join the Death Eaters. They've even made my baby brother hate me, and we used to like each other."
Lily sighed, her mouth drooping in the tortured expression that the teachers sometimes used when dealing with a particularly stupid or slow student,
"You were Sorted into Gryffindor because you're supposedly different from them. You're meant to be noble, remember, and that means forgiving them for what they've done in the past and starting again."
Sirius looked surprised at her unusually stern tone and a bit guilty, but he answered smoothly enough.
"I'll try, promise I will. I suppose we did ask for it," he conceded, then grinned. "We'll leave you and James to it then, we've got work to do, and I'm sure you'd welcome the privacy. Come on, you guys, we'll go back upstairs."
James flushed a deep red, Lily smiled and the other Marauders laughed as Sirius led them away.
"Harry!" Lily called from the portrait hole of the Gryffindor common room. Harry, sitting in a corner hurriedly doing his Potions essay, looked up and waved to her. She came over, stepping anxiously from one foot to the other. "Have you seen James Potter anywhere? Is he with the others?" Harry thought hard for a moment, running mentally back over his schedule.
"No, not since Transfiguration anyway, and we have that with you. Why do you ask? Is he in trouble with someone?"
"He said he'd meet me here about five minutes ago. Normal he's always on time for a date, usually early, actually. I wondered if anything might have happened to him, if he'd got detention perhaps. He gets it often enough."
"He's not with any of us," Harry said confidently. "The others are all over there. Do you want me to have a look for him? Its possible he's just forgotten."
"Not James - not a date, at any rate."
"I'll look then."
"Thanks, can I help at all?
"Sure."
Harry shoved his things back into his bag, throwing it carelessly over against the wall, out of the way of everyone else. He pulled his wand from the back pocket of the jeans he was wearing under his robes - he couldn't care less about Moody's 'elementary wand safety'.
"Quaero James!" he said firmly, holding it out and balancing it perfectly in mid air. They watched as it spun around madly. Eventually, it stopped, pointing downwards slightly to the north. "He's down from here then, come on Evans."
They pounded down a flight of stairs, that thankfully kept going the right way for once, and repeated the spell. After checking their result, they continued down again. Here the wand remained horizontal, pointed directly towards what Harry at least knew was the entrance to the Slytherin common room.
"Uh oh," Harry said, immediately worried.
"He won't just be pranking them?"
"Not at this time and not without telling any of us. Its one of the first rules - you need someone to bail you out if you need it. I'll call the others, there's no way we can take on all of the Slytherins by ourselves. Accio Sirius! Accio Peter! Accio Remus!"
The three boys came charging down a few seconds later, towed frantically by their wands. At last they skidded to a stop, panting. Sirius glared at Harry.
"There are far more comfortable ways of calling us," he snapped irritably. "What is it? It had better be good, cos my Charms essay was due half and hour ago."
"James is in there," Harry said, not getting at all angry, pointing towards the glowering portrait. Sirius became deadly serious at once and Harry continued. "I wasn't about to go in there with just Lily, she might have got hurt."
"I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you Harry Jamiesion!"
"I know, but you're not used to the same sort of things that I am and two against the whole of Slytherin is not good odds. Peter, will you try to get the Dark Knight to let us in? He likes you much better than he likes the rest of us."
Peter nodded and went over to talk to the portrait, looking grim but proud and determined at being given such an important task. After what seemed like an age to Harry and the others, he beckoned them over to the entrance.
"He doesn't like us coming in at all, but he does want us to get James out. His opinion is that the Slytherin common room is no place for a Gryffindor under any circumstances and that they were wrong to take him there. He didn't comment about Slytherins in the Gryffindor common room."
"Well done Peter," Harry said encouraging. "Just stick to the subject, remember that the longer we take, the more harm might be done to James. And thank you for your assistance, Sir Knight. Now, first thing is to get James out of there and up to Madam Pomfrey if necessary. Go for the Slytherins only to achieve that, don't aim to hex them or hurt them unless they attack first. We don't want to ruin our good reputation with the Knight for this, do we? Ready everyone?"
They raised their wands and crept silently through the now open portrait hole. It did not look good. James had been slammed roughly up against the opposite wall, bound by heavy iron chains that were not part of the usual décor and had probably been conjured on the spot by one of the older boys. A crowd that appeared to include every one of the Slytherin boys and a good number of the girls had gathered around him.
If James noticed his friends' presence at all, indeed if he was in any condition to notice them, he gave no sign of it. Blood was oozing slowly from a deep cut on his forehead, and one eye was starting to swell and go puffy.
"Liberato!" shouted Harry through the noise and the chains snapped open. James toppled forwards. The Slytherins spun round, surprised by the largely unfamiliar voice. The Gryffindors let off a series of harmless curses, jinxes and hexes so that Peter and Lily were able to run in and help James out in the confusion.
As soon as he was safely out, Sirius, Harry and Remus retreated slowly, then ran from the common room, pushing the portrait firmly shut behind him. Remus stayed there holding it while the others gathered around James.
Sirius and Harry, the two tallest and strongest of them since James was out of action, picked up their friend and carried him between them to the hospital wing, since he appeared to be unconscious. The others followed on anxiously.
"The Slytherins were picking on him, Madam Pomfrey!" Sirius retorted glibly, answering the matron's question. He looked righteously outraged and angry. This was probably out of practice, although at least he was telling the truth this time. "We had to go and get him out, we're his friends and we couldn't just leave him there being beaten up, could we?"
"You know what the Headmaster has to say about fighting, young man," she said sternly. Obviously she knew the Marauders' reputation all too well.
"We didn't fight them except in self-defense. Ask the Dark Knight, he saw us. He was the one that let us in to get James, after all, so he believes us."
"You can be sure that I'll be telling Professor Dumbledore about this anyway. I'm half considering keeping you in the hospital wing tonight, Potter."
James, who'd come around quickly once rescued, looked horror struck at the very idea.
"Oh please," he protested. "I'm fine, really I am. It doesn't hurt at all, and I'm sure it would be a bother for you to have me here all night when I don't need to stay really. . ."
"Hmm," Madam Pomfrey said somewhat dubiously, but then she had quite enough to deal with considering the measles outbreak among the first years - it seemed to be the exception to the rule that Muggle diseases don't affect wizards. The infirmary beds were all full, in fact. "Well, all right, but you have to come back tomorrow and I'll change your dressings.
James mumbled something that was probably agreement and limped back to join the others.
"Thank you Lily," he said, eyes almost glowing, cheeks definitely glowing. "If it wasn't for you, I'd still be there."
"Are you sure you're okay?" his girlfriend asked anxiously, no more deceived than the nurse. "You don't look it."
"I am, I am."
"Anyway, don't be so silly James. All that I did was notice that you were missing. It was Harry that organized everything else and told us what to do."
"Harry said it was you that got him going and I'm eternally grateful to you, Wizard's Debt."
"Not for something like that James!" Lily said, sounding horrified. "How about you give me some Transfiguration coaching this evening, you're far better than any of your friends at it, so they wouldn't have to come along."
"Okay," he replied, quickly realizing what she was getting at.
"Come on James," Sirius interrupted; James scowled at him. "What shall we do to pay them back?"
"Grow up Sirius!" Lily snapped. "You started it. It's getting ridiculous, why hate the Slytherins so much? They aren't that bad, and Severus is okay."
"Snivellus is most definitely not okay! You know what they did to me when I was Sorted into Gryffindor. It was their fault that I had to run away from home last summer so I didn't have to join the Death Eaters. They've even made my baby brother hate me, and we used to like each other."
Lily sighed, her mouth drooping in the tortured expression that the teachers sometimes used when dealing with a particularly stupid or slow student,
"You were Sorted into Gryffindor because you're supposedly different from them. You're meant to be noble, remember, and that means forgiving them for what they've done in the past and starting again."
Sirius looked surprised at her unusually stern tone and a bit guilty, but he answered smoothly enough.
"I'll try, promise I will. I suppose we did ask for it," he conceded, then grinned. "We'll leave you and James to it then, we've got work to do, and I'm sure you'd welcome the privacy. Come on, you guys, we'll go back upstairs."
James flushed a deep red, Lily smiled and the other Marauders laughed as Sirius led them away.