Summary: L/J love/hate. James discovers some secrets in his seventh year that turn his life upside-down and haunt him years afterward. Will these secrets affect his friendship with his fellow Marauders or his never-thought-possible relationship with Lily Evans?
Author's notes: Eh...don't know why I even bothered with the notes I had posted. Oh, well. *shrugs* Anyways....I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I know a lot of you have been waiting for it for a very, very, VERY long time. ^.^" Anyways...aren't you all happy? You all will find out more about that thing James wears and won't show the guys, and why he's been acting weird. If any of you couldn't guess what it was until you saw the title of this chapter, raise you hands! *sees her sister raising hers and sweatdrops* O...kay....Anyone else? *crickets* Well, fine. Just answer in the reviews then ^.^ Anyway. I'll have Chapter Nine out as soon as I can. I don't have all of the dialogue written out, so it might be almost a week until I type it up. Eh...I have a weird writing system *sweatdrops* Anyways, I hope you all enjoy! ^.^" *waves*
Dedicated to: Y. KUANG! ^.^ Thank you so much for the wonderful compliments! I hope this chapter is just as good as the others, if not better! ^.~
Disclaimer: Well, why can't I own any of them? *pouts* Oh, yeah...lawsuits...-.- that sucks...Well, you know the routine. I own no one in this chapter, or any characters you know in this story. :P
Of Hidden Truths
(Gryffindor's Heir)
The first thing James did when he entered the secret passage behind the portrait of Lady Anquette, which he and the others had found four years ago, was transformed into his animagus form of a stag. If he was to help Padfoot control the werewolf beast that was their friend Moony, he would have to be in the form of an animal, since werewolves cared not for other animals' blood.
He flew down the tunnel, hoping that Padfoot had been able to keep Moony near the forest without going near Hogsmeade.
That wouldn't be good at all.
What James-now-Prongs didn't count on was that Moony had caught the scent of human from that direction. Prongs halted his running as he was faced with a growling and snarling full-grown werewolf.
The stag's instinct to run almost over-came Prongs' thoughts, but he quickly got in control and carefully approached Moony, who didn't even take notice of him. A dog's barking in the distance assured Prongs that Padfoot was on his way, probably scared that Moony had found an actual human to rip apart.
Prongs snorted out of his nose at the thought as he lowered his head and let his antlers ward off the hungry werewolf. Moony, noticing what Prongs was doing, backed away, growling louder in agitation. The werewolf didn't know that this stag was actually a school mate and best friend when he was human. Frankly, he didn't care; so long as the stag did not prevent him from getting to the human he had smelt.
And the stag had, Prongs knew.
The stag was not going to get off interfering with Moony's hunt so easily.
And so he wouldn't, as Moony howled in annoyance and thrust himself at the wall of antlers, which only backed away slightly, so they would not injure the wolf too bad. The wolf didn't seem to realize nor care and jumped again, this time with his teeth bared and ready to lock onto the stag's neck.
Unfortunately, Prongs could not back up in time.
Moony howled in pain as the stag's antlers went into his front, right side. Prongs backed away and lifted his head, while the wolf licked his wounds. A dog's barking grew louder in the air.
Moony looked up to the stag, away from his wounds, and growled again as his legs prepared for a pounce. Prongs decided to flee, knowing that he could not bear to hurt his friend again; but before he could, the wolf sprung--
--only to be knocked out of the air as a dark shape slammed into it.
Both figures fell into the wall of the tunnel hard and, with a yelp, fell to the ground. Moony immediately jumped on top of the smaller canine and began to wrestle it onto its back. The smaller canine--Padfoot--yelped and bit at the wolf, struggling to get onto his four feet. Prongs, seeing the danger, charged at Moony, who looked up and leaped away as the antlers threatened to do him more harm.
Padfoot whimpered as he turned himself back onto his feet. Prongs kept Moony at bay while the large black dog stood, favoring his front left paw as he did so.
Moony snarled as the stag defended his now-wounded partner and retreated as he decided he would have more luck elsewhere. Prongs, however, leaped in front of the wolf before he could exit the tunnel. Padfoot remained behind Moony, growling in distaste and anger.
The werewolf, seeing no way out, sat on his hunches and eyed each of the animals with a steely amber glare which gave both of the ones being watched the chills.
This was how it remained for many hours, since the wolf knew that the stag would harm him more than the annoying dog could. If he tried to attack the dog, the stag would just get in the way. If he tried to flee, the stag would ward him off with his antlers...if he tried to attack the stag, the annoying dog or the wall of antlers would stop him.
So, he remained in one place, knowing that he would not feast on human flesh that night, and licked the wounds he received from the stag's antlers.
It was only just when the moon was setting and the night was to end, however, that the stag allowed the wolf to run out of the tunnel, before he himself sped ahead and steered Moony toward the Shrieking Shack, Moony's much hated prison.
Padfoot and Prongs stayed with Moony in the Shrieking Shack only until the wolf howled one last time before collapsing as the moon gave way to the sun.
When there was no sound from the fallen beast, Prongs immediately transformed back into his human self, rushing over to his wounded friend, who also returned to his human form, nursing an injured left arm.
"Ow," said Sirius, wincing as he looked down at the now-bruised arm he held. "That's not going to go away for a while."
James shook his head at his friend's words. "Worry about it later. We have to get out of here," he said, making Sirius look up in amusement.
"Peter found you?" he asked, ignoring what the other boy had said. "I should be amazed, shouldn't I?"
James rolled his eyes and helped Sirius off of the ground before looking over to Moony, who was beginning to revert back to his own human form. "Come on, Padfoot. Let's not get caught."
***
When the two boys reached the Common Room, Sirius could only flop onto a couch while James lowered himself into an armchair. Sirius groaned as he sank into the cushions of the red furniture.
"Thank God," he moaned, still being careful of his bruised arm. James sighed and leaned back into his chair, mentally agreeing with his friend's statement.
"That was--" he began.
"--too close?" Sirius supplied with a curious look, obviously thinking along those lines.
James sunk into the chair some more and finished, "--exhausting."
Sirius chuckled. "James Potter. Man of many words." A long pause engulfed the two supposed friends as each thought of the night's events. "James? I want to--"
"Sirius, I'm sorry," James blurted out before the other boy could finish. Sirius stared at his friend in disbelief as he tried to comprehend what had just been said.
"Wh-wha--?" he tried to ask, to find out if he had heared what he thought he heard but couldn't even get that one little word out, he was so surprised. James sheepishly looked at his hands while Sirius' mouth opened and closed in search of something to say.
"I've been an ass lately, haven't I?" asked the bespectacled teem in a shy manner as soon as his long-time friend looked as if he was wrapping his mind around what had been said.
"A little," agreed Sirius, shaking his head as James sighed again.
"Look," said James, looking at Sirius, whose blue eyes still showed a lot of surprise. "I'm sorry I fought with you. You know I didn't mean any of it."
Sirius nodded. "Of course."
James looked at his hands again, slightly embarrassed that he was apologizing and slightly relieved that all their fighting was pretty much over. "And I'd never not want to have you as a friend," he continued. "It's just that...I guess I don't want you or Remus or anyone else to get hurt by what I'm hiding."
Sirius made no reply for a moment, but James could hear him shifting on the couch, probably sitting himself up. "I can understand that, James," said the other boy seriously. "What I don't get is why you don't think we could handle ourselves."
James looked up and saw that Sirius was, indeed, sitting up and gave him a waning smile. "We have problems with Snape and Malfoy's schemes...how would we possibly go up against Voldemort?"
"Magic a sign that says 'Kick Me' on his back?" suggested Sirius, attempting to lighten the mood.
James' mouth quirked into a smirk. "Be my guest."
"Nah." Sirius waved a hand airily. "I have an idea for what I can say when or if I run into him." He paused, cocking his head to the side. "I still don't get why you keep bringing him up."
"Can't you guess?" questioned James sadly.
"Er..." murmured Sirius.
James sighed. "Never mind...I'll tell you when I'm ready," he said.
Sirius smiled a little and spead his hands away from each other. "That's all I wanted," he told his friend, who returned the smile, glad that he had his closest friend back.
A foolish fight that had place a rift between the two boys had been resolved and the rift was filled in and crossed all because of one chaotic night of danger...
...James would have to thank Remus later.
***
"So," said Remus, slightly impatiently and pointedly at the two dark-haired boys who were in the Hospital Wing the next night. "What happened?"
James and Sirius exchanged glances. "Er..."
Remus' face fell. "You had trouble?" he asked, immediately putting a hand to his right shoulder, which had previously had puncture holes in it before Madam Parks healed it.
"Not at all, Moony!" said Sirius hurriedly as he tried to reassure his fairer-haired friend. "It was perfectly in control."
"Completely," James agreed, nodding vigorously.
"Totally."
"Undeniably--"
Remus' laugh interrupted the duo's tirade. "Glad to see you two back on civil terms," he said, smiling warmly.
Sirius gave a non-committed shrug. "James decided life as a Muggle hobo wouldn't be any funy without me," he replied with a dry tone.
Remus stifled a chuckle. "I'm sure."
"Anyway," said James impatiently as he tossed Sirius a look. "How are you feeling?" he asked of Remus.
"How I always feel after a full moon," answered Remus simply. "Tired and sore."
Sirius muttered something about soreness and his arm, which cause Remus to look at him funny, which--in turn--made Sirius clear his throat and say, "Well, look at the bright side. You get to skip classes for two days."
"And I only had to grow fur to do it," responded Remus dryly.
"Mm..." murmured Sirius, rubbing his chin which had obviously not been shaved since early that morning. "I guess this isn't enough."
Remus laughed at his friend&'s actions. "Go shave, Padfoot."
"Nah," said the rough-faced teen with a bright smile. "I hear scruffiness is in this time of the year."
"Oh, yes," James put in suddenly. "The girls really go for it."
Sirius turned to James with a malicious glint in his eye as if he knew he had an idea to get James ruffled. "Maybe you should try it. When was the last time you went out?"
James' face turned red in embarrassment. "That--" he began, only to be interrupted by Remus answering, "Last March, if I recall correctly."
"Remus!" shouted James, appalled that the two of them were teaming up on him. Sirius rose an eyebrow at Remus and then looked to the embarrassed James, shaking his head.
"You really need a girlfriend, man," he said, while James' face went from red with embarrassment to red with mild anger.
"No, I don't," said the red-faced boy firmly. Sirius ignored him and seemed to be in thought about possible suitors for the bespectacled teen.
"I know--!" he shouted in triumph, having thinking of the best one.
"Sirius!" interrupted James sharply, making his friend look up at him with an obviously-fake innocent look.
"What?" he queried in false confusion.
"Not. Evans," said James evenly and through gritted teeth. Sirius looked around the room in mild bewilderment, making Remus chuckle.
"Who said anything about Lily?" James didn't fall for the innocent act.
"Oh, no...I'm not falling for that look," he stated, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the other boy, who gave a wide-eyed look.
"What look?" asked Sirius before Remus, who had been chuckling at the whole thing, cocked his head to the side and leaned toward the door.
"Hey, guys," he said, gaining the duo's attention as he listened to something that James and Sirius' human ears could not catch, "I think Madam Parks is coming."
"Damn," hissed Sirius meaningfully, making Remus look curiously at him, while James tossed his invisibility cloak over the taller boy before looking to his other friend.
"Later, Moony," he said in farewell as he also covered himself with the cloak.
And not a moment too soon, either. Madam Parks opened the door to the Wing and walked in, carrying some trays of supplies to the other side of the room.
She never saw that Remus was actually awake, trying to smother his chuckles that came as a result of his visit from his friends. Nor did she see the Wing door open just a little way to admit passage to two invisible mischievous boys. Instead, she went into a room on the far side of the Wing and remained in there until long after Remus had actually fallen asleep.
***
Two days after the full moon and the night before Remus was to be released from the Hospital Wing, James and Sirius were, yet again, up later than some should be; though this time they remained inside their own tower. Sirius had just stretched and yawned, saying he was going to turn in and wanting to know if James was, too, when the second boy shook his head tiredly.
"How can you not be tired?" asked Sirius with a bit of agitation, knowing that his friend was refusing to sleep becuse of the night-terrors he had been having of the late. "You look dead on your feet."
James shook his head in denial and replied with a yawn interrupting slightly, "I'm...--ot..."
Sirius stared at him for a moment before nodding in false and disbelieving agreement. "Uh, huh. Sure," he said before turning to go to the dormitory. "You stay up then. See you tomorrow."
***
James was just beginning to nod off at just-past two o'clock, when he heard a dull thump which startled him awake. He turned to see who it was and was surprised to see that Peter, who had been absent for most of the day, was standing stock-still on the last step of the stairs leading up to the boy's dormitories.
"Peter?" asked James, squinting a bit since his eyes weren't working properly with exhaustion, causing them to blur. "Why are you up?"
Peter looked as if he was hesitating with giving an answer, and that should have been odd to James if he wasn't too tired to notice.
"I got hungry," said Peter weakly.
"Oh." James leaned back against the couch he was sprawled on before noticing an object his friend was holding. "What's that?"
"Erm..." Peter seemed to look nervous about giving an answer. "Your cloak," he answered, and James realized why he would be nervous. "I was going to bring it back."
James waved off the explanation, while giving a yawn. "It's okay. Have fun."
Peter seemed to look relieved and headed toward the portrait. "Thanks," he said in graditude. James gave a slight nod, but he did not even hear Peter open the protrait as he drifted off to sleep.
***
"I knew you'd be exhausted," said Sirius gruffly the next morning as a blurry-eyed James Potter sat across from him, keeping his head up only by resting it on his fist, which only stayed upright by his elbow being on the table.
"'m fine," argued James tiredly as his elbow slipped a little, making his face nearly fall onto his plate filled with eggs and bacon. Sirius gave him an exasperated look.
"You're practically sleep in your breakfast," he said, gesturing to the plate while James yawned.
"'m..." James began to reply, but his eyes closed just as he was going to speak and his head nearly fell off of his fist.
"Did you get any sleep?" asked Remus, who had managed to escape Madam Parks' care before breakfast had started. James, who had been startled awake by the slip of his head, blinked once--twice--and propped his head back onto his fist.
"...'ittle..." he yawned, his eyes shutting on their own yet again.
"James..." said Remus in concern for his friend's condition. Sirius, however, was getting upset that his closest friend was hurting himself by not getting any rest.
"Okay, I can't take it anymore," he said, dropping his fork to his plate, waking James some and startling Remus. "What is the secret, James?"
"No, Sirius..." murmured James, sitting up awake from his fist, bringing his other elbow onto the table, and resting his head onto his hands, shielding his eyes with his fingers.
"You think his insomnia's from that?" asked Remus in bewilderment.
Sirius looked disgruntled as he watched the tired boy across from him. "I've known he was having trouble sleeping since the first day of school."
Remus looked to James, startled. "James?" he asked.
James didn't reply.
Sirius snorted. "Don't do it delicately, Remus," he said, his voice gruff. "He's too tired to get pissed off."
Remus looked from James to Sirius and sighed. "Just leave him alone right now, Padfoot," he said quietly.
***
Typically, James' out-of-it state remained all through all of his classes. None of the professors chose to comment on this, except Professor McGonagall.
"Mister Potter," she said, her voice still as severe as ever even though James looked quite pathetic as he tiredly lifted his head to look at the witch. "See me after class."
James gave a small nod, and the witch went back to her lecture on how not to get yourself stuck in half-way self-transfiguration. Sirius, who sat beside James, glowered at his friend before turning to Remus, who was paying attention and answering questions Peter, who was taking notes, had.
"You know," said Sirius to Remus in a whisper, "maybe we should--"
"No," said Remus with a sigh. "We're not using any potion on him."
Sirius grunted in obvious annoyance. "Well, how else--
"Shut up," mumbled James, who had heard the whole thing, though he looked like he was studying his notes rather closely with his face right on top of his parchment.
"Don't tell me to 'shut up,' Mister See-Me-After-Class," snapped Sirius, who looked quite upset, indeed. McGonagall seemed to notice this, for she snapped the book she had been reciting out of shut with a frown.
"Mister Black," she barked loudly, gaining the boy's attention and waking the other--sleeping--boy slightly. "Have you something to say?
"Yes, actually," said Sirius, standing up and making everyone stare at him oddly, including McGonagall. "I believe James here should sleep when he is supposed to."
James groaned and covered his face with his hands while Remus shook his head, and Peter seemed to be writing notes that hadn't even been said yet. McGonagall pursed her lips into a thin line and glance at the groaning teen before looking to the standing one.
"Although I agree with your statement," she said firmly, "I would appreciate it if you were to pay attention."
Sirius nodded. "Yes, Professor," he said and he once again took his seat. McGonagall watched him for a moment more before opening the book back up and continuing her lesson, to which Sirius actually paid attention to.
***
"James." Something seemed to shake the sleeping boy, who merely made a sound of annoyance. "James, wake up, lad."
"Sm..." murmured the tired teenager before burying his head into his arm more.
"He drank some Sleeping Draught of the Dead, hasn't he?" asked a second voice, which made James shift slightly in his half-consciouse state. An amused chuckle came from in front of him and made him relax further.
"I'd doubt it, Mister Black," said the voice which had chuckled. "Mister Potter is just extremely exhausted."
There was a snort of annoyance and the sound of shifting cloth.
"I told him to go to bed last night," the second voice--Sirius--grumbled.
"And convincing job it must have been," replied the first voice dryly.
Sirius snorted again. "Ah, quiet you."
"Well, Albus?" questioned a woman's voice from behind James. "Have you an idea of what to do?"
The third voice, Dumbledore's, answered with an amused quality, "None, but I'm sure he'll be fine after some sleep."
Sleep...yes, that sound like the thing he really needed right then. Good old Dumbledore allowing him to get away with yet another unorthodox problem. Who had ever heard of someone being excused from classes because he couldn't keep his eyes open for no more than two seconds?
"So...we just leave him here?" A low chuckle resulted from the seemingly obvious question that had come from Sirius.
"No, Mister Black," said Dumbledore, "you and Mister Lupin will take Mister Potter to your Common Room and let him rest on the couch."
"Why not his bed?" queried the first voice, which must have belonged to Remus.
"Perhaps," responded Dumbledore, patiently, "it would be best to let him sleep elsewhere for the moment. You both are excused from your classes--"
"Really, Albus!" objected McGonagall loudly. "It doesn't take the two of them to watch over Potter--"
"I must insist, Minerva."
There was a moment of silence and then a sigh. "...if that's what you believe is best, Albus," McGonagall stated as she yielded to his order. "I shall inform your teachers--what is it, Black?"
The exasperated sigh from the older witch was quite humorous.
"Professor Bulstrode's going to give Gryffindor tons of homework he'll expect us to ha--"
"I shall speak with him about it," assured Dumbledore's voice. "Now, run along. Mister Black. Mister Lupin."
***
When James next awoke from his slumber, he found himself just where Dumbledore had said for him to be. The Gryffindor Common Room on the couch. A bit disorientated, as he wasn't very sure how long he had been asleep or how he had exactly gotten there, he just stared at the couch's red fabric, allowing him some time to wake fully. When he felt he had enough time studying the sitching of the cushions, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, which were relieved of his glasses at the moment.
Though everything was fuzzy, he knew no one was in the room with him.
"Probably upstairs," he muttered to himself as he swung his legs off of the couch, yawning and stretching as he did so.
"Ah, so Sleeping Beauty does wake up!" said a voice with a giddy tone, accompanied by the sound of someone coming downt he stairs and jogging over to the couch. "Was wondering when you'd decide you weren't tired anymore."
James had to back up a bit as Sirius shoved his face close to his, a big grin on the longer-haired boy's face. "Well, how long was I asleep?" asked James curiously, undaunted by how close his friend was. Sirius usually did this when James was without his glases, that way the nearly-blind boy could see all of his facial expressions.
Right then, Sirius looked none-too happy about the question.
"All day yesterday and last night!" he said with a frown before sticking a finger under his friend's nose. "I told you you should have gone to bed! You know, you really should listen to me sometimes. I'm not a total idiot."
"Only when it's the wrong time, Padfoot," commented another voice from the stairs. Both James and Sirius looked over and James could barely make out the form of his fairer-haired friend Remus, who was walking over and holding out something in his hand. "Here, James, get these on before you strain your eyes too much."
"You didn't do anything to them, did you?" questioned James cautiously as he took the glasses and studied them suspiciously.
Remus gave a small grin. "Don't worry, I had them the whole time."
With a frown in Sirius' direction, James put the glasses on, making everything come into clear quality...including Sirius' face.
"Argh! Sirius! Get your ugly mug away!" he exclaimed, shoving at his friend, who gave a small laugh before standing straight and putting his hands on his hips.
"You're sure one to talk. You're hair's worse than ever!" James scowled and tried to smooth down his hair in annoyance.
"I'd like to remind you that I look this way every morning," he said with annoyance.
"Which is why I scream whenever you wake me up," laughed Sirius while Remus stifled a laugh. Indeed, there had been several occassions where the boys had been awaken to Sirius' screams that there was some hideous beast standing over him. It was, of course, all in good fun.
"Whatever." James rolled his eyes, standing. "I'm going to take a shower. You guys wait up for me, okay?"
"Sure," replied Remus, since Sirius wasn't acting at all seriously. Both Remus and Sirius were already dressed for their day, since it was rather later than when they usually woke up. James, however, still wore the outfit he had worn the other day, minus his shoes, robe, and tie.
Jams, not thinking or caring where he was, took off the grey vest he wore over his white, long-sleeve shirt and tossed it on the couch as he began to head toward the dormitories, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.
"Hey, James," called Sirius as if he had just remembered something. James turned to him with a questioning look. "Just so you know: the house-elves came and cleaned up your bed area, so your clothes should be--"
"What's that?" interrupted Remus suddenly, making both dark-haired boys look to him in confusion. James was the first to realize what he was talking about and quickly hid away the object that hung around his neck.
"It's nothing," he said with a nervous tone. "Don't worry about it, Remus."
"No, wait," objected Sirius, "I want to see--"
"It's not anything," insisted James. "Seriously!"
"James, was that--?" Remus began to question quietly before Sirius walked passed him and over to James.
"Come on, James," the taller boy said seriously. "Hiding things about what happened to you is one thing. Hiding things we can see is totally different. Let me see."
"Come on, Padfoot, leave me alone, all right?" James tried to get away but was grabbed by the collar of his shirt.
"Oh, no, you don't," said Sirius firmly. "You're staying right here."
"Sirius," Remus spoke up as he came over, "let go of James for a moment." The other boy did so grudgingly and James resigned himself to being interrogated. "Now, James, is that what I think it is?"
Here there bespectacled teen looked up in surprise before he gained a pained look. "You...know what it is?"
"I believe I've seen it in a book I've read just recently," answered the werewolf honestly, "and if it's what I think it is, then there's no reason to hide it anymore, is there?"
James sighed and looked between his two friends, suddenly feeling very, very small. "I got it last year. After...well, Dumbledore was the one that gave me the chain, but Mum was the one who gave it to me," he said before pulling out the object. A pendent that consisted of a red stone surrounded with gold hung on a chain of gold.
Sirius blinked. "Well...that certainly looks...extravagant, doesn't it?"
Remus, however, stared at it with semi-wide eyes. "It is it? My goodness, James...you've been hiding that from us? I can hardly believe it!"
"What?" asked Sirius, obviously lost.
James gave Remus a sad sort of smile. "I was't supposed to let anyone know about it, so I guess you guys will have to keep it a secret, too."
"How can I keep it a secret if I don't know what it is?" asked Sirius, sounding agitated that he was being ignored.
Remus looked over to him and patiently answered, "Sirius, that stone James's wearing is a sort of amulet. Or at least that's how the book described it. I didn't think it was even real. The book was old and very much out of date, but I suppose it was accurate to a fault. This...amulet is a marker--a symbol, if you will."
"For what?" Sirius was obviously very curious about what his close friend had been hiding.
"In the book," said Remus, looking at the ground thoughtfully, "it spoke of heirlooms of the greatest wizards of time. The author was in the belief that the heirs of the wizards would be given these heirlooms and they would signify both their birthright and their power. What James is wearing is one of these heirlooms. It's original owner is quite obvious, as its colors give it away. Scarlet and gold were, of course, the owner's personal colors. As were they Godric Gryffindor's." The lighter-haired teen looked up at Sirius with a bit of a smile as he then gestured to James. "Sirius, I'd like you to meet the Heir of Gryffindor."
There was a moment of silence.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Them Girl: ^.^" Um...you're welcome. ^.^" Don't rememeber why you're thanking me ((Javexalot: *pokes me and points out the next part of the review*)) Oh, yeah...Well, like I said, emails are no problem. I really don't mind too much about people changing their emails. I just hate it when they change their user name. So confusing @.@. Yes! Long chapters ROCK! I LOVE long chapters to DEATH. I guess that's why I'm wondering why my GW fic isn't doing so well *sweatdrops* They're 50-60 KB long each and no one will read it! WAH! *coughs* Anyway...yes, I love how Lily is like that. In fact I love her character, I didn't really know how to picture her at first, but the idea just came into my head one day when my older sister said I was easy to read. I dunno...Lily just seems the type that would be that way. ^.^" Glad you liked it! Hope you read this chapter, too!
Ariana: It might take you a while to check your email, but it takes me FOREVER to write the next chapter! *nervous laugh* Yes, in fact, I DID do well on my finals. Only a B in Free Enterprise I think *sweatdrops* I think that's because the teacher was Coach Ingram and he gives out REAL hard tests to his honor classes *sighs* I hope you did well on all of your tests and projects *remembers the timeline she failed to turn in* v.v (hopefully it won't hurt my grade in English). Yeah, it really does suck when friends fight, but what I hate worse is how friends just dift away. It's really sad how that happens at times. It's happened to me plenty of times, espeically with my online friends v.v But, have no fear for they HAVE made up(as you have read in this chapter). Also, no it wasn't a scheme for James and Sirius to make up(as you have read). You know, when I wrote this, I realized that werewolves are kind of scary, since they are a lot like wolves, but not so scary that they should be mistreated while they're humans! *holds up "I suppose Lupin" sign* Down with evil people who hate him in the book! The meanies! :P Oh, James, will eventually get to the point where he'll tell what happened that day. In fact, it should be around the corner. I can't tell when exactly, because I don't have any script past the point of Chapter Nine, but I'll tell you that it's soon. You know what really annoys me about James is that when I write him, he seems to come alive and make the stupidest mistakes(if that makes any sense *sweatdrops*) I'll tell you this much: he DOES learn that lesson about his friends. What I can't tell you is whether he'll remember or not...-.-" When will he admit to liking Lily? ^.^" Yet again, that's around the corner. Not telling if he tells Lily or not, though ^.^ Thanks for the review!
alexz: ^.^" Wrote more! (wow, shortest response! ^.^)
Y. Kuang: *mouth hangs open before she drops to the ground* Oh, THANK YOU for this wonderful review! I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw you had reviewed again! I mean...wow...it's not everyday one of my favorite fanfic authors review my works. It just...blew me away. *stares worshipingly* ((Javexalot: *pokes my head* Thou shouldeth continue with thy review.)) Huh? Oh, yeah...^.^ Yes, I really enjoy writing Lily, as I have said in one of my previous responses. I just feel that she wouldn't be the type that would let herself be known so quickly by others, especially if that person was a certain someone. ^.~ I also found it more realistic if she would let James know little-by-little about who she is and how she is like. I mean, it's not like she's going to all of a sudden tell him everything, what with their past history. That's what bothers me about some stories I've read. They make things too easy for the characters and it doesn't seem as real. I didn't really know that people would actually look forward to her appearances though *blushes* Ease and eloquence? Man, I thought it was all the way rocky, but you say there's only one rocky section. *shrugs* I guess that just proves I'm my own worse critic. I think the ending scene in this chapter is a little rocky as well, could you tell me if it is? I'll look into it if it is. ^.^ Thank you for the compliments. I try my hardest to fit the whole story together, that way when you read it, you'll not want to miss anything since each chapter has to do with something that happened in the previous one. Eh...but...um...*blushes* Wow...so many compliments! I'm so hapy that you looked for this fic, and yes, it had been buried under all of holiday fics. I was hoping that you guys would find it, since it was on page two in at least an hour after it showed up in the HP section. Thank goodness you did find it, or else I would have missed out on all of these wonderful reviews! My characters are very developed? *blushes agian, but clears throat* Well, I'm glad you think so. I didn't want them to be so two-dimensional. I mean, what author would? James...well...he really is a character. I love writting him because throughtout this fic he has problems that are kind of like problems any person would face and he reacts the same way anybody else would under the circumstances. ugh...about those Lily fics. I hate it when they say she's smart and all of that, but then she giggles like a little school girl over the most RIDICULOUS things! And I really dislike how some people put in present-day material as well. It's certainly annoying, since she lived in the 70s. American slang? Well, I try to avoid that in my story, though it might show up once in a while. I mean, I'm American and I haven't been outside of my country so I have no earthly clue about how other countries are(minus Japan, which I've been getting into since I'm obsessive about anime). I am SO lgad you still enjoy my fic! I wasn't sure if your reviewing the first time was a fluke or what, but you reviewed again! Thank you so much for the lovely compliments! *begins to blush again*
HPdreamer15: Hehe...the 'Sir Knight' bit is going to be an on-going joke for Lily and James. I think it really brings some flavor into their conversations and such. *blushes* I'm glad you really do love this fic. You don't kno how glad. In fact, hearing that really makes my day since my GW fic just splattered on the pavement -.- People seem to like my LOTR fic, though I think it's kind of silly. Maybe because the idea's different? O.o? ^.^ More was posted and I hope you've enjoyed! ^.^
Tempest: Of course I dedicated it to you! I'd be insane if I didn't dedicate one for you, girl! ^.^" Btw, sorry I haven't read your fic if you've updated. Been real busy, you know? ^.^ Well, I'm glad you liked the chapter I dedicated for you. ^.^" Dramatic music as you read? Well, gee! *blushes* That certainly IS a compliment, right there! I think that's one of the best things someone can say! Wow! Thanks for that one! ^.^ Eh...free reign to rush a genius *sweatdrops* ^.^" Sorry I've been not-rushing then! ^.^" Like I said, been real busy! I hope you've read this chapter and enjoyed it!
rebekah: You mean it WASN'T cliched? *sweatdrops* There are so many things that are cliche in this fic, I was wondering if someone would call them on me, but I guess I haven't really gotten to the real cliche things. Either that, or it's the delivery. *blushes* Glad you think it's non-cliche. I really loved writing the scenes you mentioned. I mean the poetry and the fighting...it just seems to HAVE to be there. *snickers* Yes, James was acting like Hamlet, ne?(haven't seen or read the play yet though) Yeah, I know the Halloween thing was totally obvious, but I like somethings to be that way ^.^ Don't worry about a review being long! I LOVE long reviews! Review your heart out! *blinks* Faves? *blushes* Well, gee! What a wonderful surprise! Thank you very much! Hope you come back and read this chapter as well!
um... How could I leave a cliffy? Very easily *evil grin* Oh, dear...I hope you didn't die because I didn't have this out sooner *worried look* ^.^" If you didn't I hope you read this chapter and liked it as well. Thanks!
meg: But cliffies are good! ^.^" Glad you've enjoyed it! And yes, you do you a lot of those, but I use a lot of '...'s ^.^ Though FF.N's bugging me since it's been deleting words or punctuatios that's more than a certain number. I swear if they take out one period in this chapter, I'll scream. *nods* Well, thanks for the review! ^.~
Musicizbest:Oopsie...should have continued ^.^" Sowwy! Glad you've liked my fic and don't worry, I get confused easily too. ^.^"
Reluxi: Should I be insulted by that joke? :P Lol, just kidding. Thank you for finding my fic enjoyable. Hehe. Yes, I love Sirius too. He's just ADORABLE! ^.^" I love writing him too since I don't have to worry about him being too out of character. He's a very emotional guy and wear his emotions on his sleeves. ^.^" Glad you liked to Scottish joke thing too! That was kind of put there randomly when my friend made me think of it. She's my Scottish twin, as I call her. ^.^" Yes, Sirius is Scottish people! All hail the mighty Scottish Sirius who wears a kilt! *bows* Hehe. I should hope that their arguing isn't so juvenile. ^.^" Otherwise, I'd be horrified to call myself a decent writer. I mean, sure those insults are good when they're not into it or whatever, but I mean come on...Hehe. The secret stuff's going to be explained more in the next chapter, so no worries. Also, here's a tip. Don't make that squinty face. FF.N doesn't take it well, since it's like an html coding of a sort, so it'll delete everything after it, as you might have found out. ^.^ Thanks for the review and I'm glad you enjoyed it as well! ^.^
Author's notes: Eh...don't know why I even bothered with the notes I had posted. Oh, well. *shrugs* Anyways....I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I know a lot of you have been waiting for it for a very, very, VERY long time. ^.^" Anyways...aren't you all happy? You all will find out more about that thing James wears and won't show the guys, and why he's been acting weird. If any of you couldn't guess what it was until you saw the title of this chapter, raise you hands! *sees her sister raising hers and sweatdrops* O...kay....Anyone else? *crickets* Well, fine. Just answer in the reviews then ^.^ Anyway. I'll have Chapter Nine out as soon as I can. I don't have all of the dialogue written out, so it might be almost a week until I type it up. Eh...I have a weird writing system *sweatdrops* Anyways, I hope you all enjoy! ^.^" *waves*
Dedicated to: Y. KUANG! ^.^ Thank you so much for the wonderful compliments! I hope this chapter is just as good as the others, if not better! ^.~
Disclaimer: Well, why can't I own any of them? *pouts* Oh, yeah...lawsuits...-.- that sucks...Well, you know the routine. I own no one in this chapter, or any characters you know in this story. :P
(Gryffindor's Heir)
The first thing James did when he entered the secret passage behind the portrait of Lady Anquette, which he and the others had found four years ago, was transformed into his animagus form of a stag. If he was to help Padfoot control the werewolf beast that was their friend Moony, he would have to be in the form of an animal, since werewolves cared not for other animals' blood.
He flew down the tunnel, hoping that Padfoot had been able to keep Moony near the forest without going near Hogsmeade.
That wouldn't be good at all.
What James-now-Prongs didn't count on was that Moony had caught the scent of human from that direction. Prongs halted his running as he was faced with a growling and snarling full-grown werewolf.
The stag's instinct to run almost over-came Prongs' thoughts, but he quickly got in control and carefully approached Moony, who didn't even take notice of him. A dog's barking in the distance assured Prongs that Padfoot was on his way, probably scared that Moony had found an actual human to rip apart.
Prongs snorted out of his nose at the thought as he lowered his head and let his antlers ward off the hungry werewolf. Moony, noticing what Prongs was doing, backed away, growling louder in agitation. The werewolf didn't know that this stag was actually a school mate and best friend when he was human. Frankly, he didn't care; so long as the stag did not prevent him from getting to the human he had smelt.
And the stag had, Prongs knew.
The stag was not going to get off interfering with Moony's hunt so easily.
And so he wouldn't, as Moony howled in annoyance and thrust himself at the wall of antlers, which only backed away slightly, so they would not injure the wolf too bad. The wolf didn't seem to realize nor care and jumped again, this time with his teeth bared and ready to lock onto the stag's neck.
Unfortunately, Prongs could not back up in time.
Moony howled in pain as the stag's antlers went into his front, right side. Prongs backed away and lifted his head, while the wolf licked his wounds. A dog's barking grew louder in the air.
Moony looked up to the stag, away from his wounds, and growled again as his legs prepared for a pounce. Prongs decided to flee, knowing that he could not bear to hurt his friend again; but before he could, the wolf sprung--
--only to be knocked out of the air as a dark shape slammed into it.
Both figures fell into the wall of the tunnel hard and, with a yelp, fell to the ground. Moony immediately jumped on top of the smaller canine and began to wrestle it onto its back. The smaller canine--Padfoot--yelped and bit at the wolf, struggling to get onto his four feet. Prongs, seeing the danger, charged at Moony, who looked up and leaped away as the antlers threatened to do him more harm.
Padfoot whimpered as he turned himself back onto his feet. Prongs kept Moony at bay while the large black dog stood, favoring his front left paw as he did so.
Moony snarled as the stag defended his now-wounded partner and retreated as he decided he would have more luck elsewhere. Prongs, however, leaped in front of the wolf before he could exit the tunnel. Padfoot remained behind Moony, growling in distaste and anger.
The werewolf, seeing no way out, sat on his hunches and eyed each of the animals with a steely amber glare which gave both of the ones being watched the chills.
This was how it remained for many hours, since the wolf knew that the stag would harm him more than the annoying dog could. If he tried to attack the dog, the stag would just get in the way. If he tried to flee, the stag would ward him off with his antlers...if he tried to attack the stag, the annoying dog or the wall of antlers would stop him.
So, he remained in one place, knowing that he would not feast on human flesh that night, and licked the wounds he received from the stag's antlers.
It was only just when the moon was setting and the night was to end, however, that the stag allowed the wolf to run out of the tunnel, before he himself sped ahead and steered Moony toward the Shrieking Shack, Moony's much hated prison.
Padfoot and Prongs stayed with Moony in the Shrieking Shack only until the wolf howled one last time before collapsing as the moon gave way to the sun.
When there was no sound from the fallen beast, Prongs immediately transformed back into his human self, rushing over to his wounded friend, who also returned to his human form, nursing an injured left arm.
"Ow," said Sirius, wincing as he looked down at the now-bruised arm he held. "That's not going to go away for a while."
James shook his head at his friend's words. "Worry about it later. We have to get out of here," he said, making Sirius look up in amusement.
"Peter found you?" he asked, ignoring what the other boy had said. "I should be amazed, shouldn't I?"
James rolled his eyes and helped Sirius off of the ground before looking over to Moony, who was beginning to revert back to his own human form. "Come on, Padfoot. Let's not get caught."
When the two boys reached the Common Room, Sirius could only flop onto a couch while James lowered himself into an armchair. Sirius groaned as he sank into the cushions of the red furniture.
"Thank God," he moaned, still being careful of his bruised arm. James sighed and leaned back into his chair, mentally agreeing with his friend's statement.
"That was--" he began.
"--too close?" Sirius supplied with a curious look, obviously thinking along those lines.
James sunk into the chair some more and finished, "--exhausting."
Sirius chuckled. "James Potter. Man of many words." A long pause engulfed the two supposed friends as each thought of the night's events. "James? I want to--"
"Sirius, I'm sorry," James blurted out before the other boy could finish. Sirius stared at his friend in disbelief as he tried to comprehend what had just been said.
"Wh-wha--?" he tried to ask, to find out if he had heared what he thought he heard but couldn't even get that one little word out, he was so surprised. James sheepishly looked at his hands while Sirius' mouth opened and closed in search of something to say.
"I've been an ass lately, haven't I?" asked the bespectacled teem in a shy manner as soon as his long-time friend looked as if he was wrapping his mind around what had been said.
"A little," agreed Sirius, shaking his head as James sighed again.
"Look," said James, looking at Sirius, whose blue eyes still showed a lot of surprise. "I'm sorry I fought with you. You know I didn't mean any of it."
Sirius nodded. "Of course."
James looked at his hands again, slightly embarrassed that he was apologizing and slightly relieved that all their fighting was pretty much over. "And I'd never not want to have you as a friend," he continued. "It's just that...I guess I don't want you or Remus or anyone else to get hurt by what I'm hiding."
Sirius made no reply for a moment, but James could hear him shifting on the couch, probably sitting himself up. "I can understand that, James," said the other boy seriously. "What I don't get is why you don't think we could handle ourselves."
James looked up and saw that Sirius was, indeed, sitting up and gave him a waning smile. "We have problems with Snape and Malfoy's schemes...how would we possibly go up against Voldemort?"
"Magic a sign that says 'Kick Me' on his back?" suggested Sirius, attempting to lighten the mood.
James' mouth quirked into a smirk. "Be my guest."
"Nah." Sirius waved a hand airily. "I have an idea for what I can say when or if I run into him." He paused, cocking his head to the side. "I still don't get why you keep bringing him up."
"Can't you guess?" questioned James sadly.
"Er..." murmured Sirius.
James sighed. "Never mind...I'll tell you when I'm ready," he said.
Sirius smiled a little and spead his hands away from each other. "That's all I wanted," he told his friend, who returned the smile, glad that he had his closest friend back.
A foolish fight that had place a rift between the two boys had been resolved and the rift was filled in and crossed all because of one chaotic night of danger...
...James would have to thank Remus later.
"So," said Remus, slightly impatiently and pointedly at the two dark-haired boys who were in the Hospital Wing the next night. "What happened?"
James and Sirius exchanged glances. "Er..."
Remus' face fell. "You had trouble?" he asked, immediately putting a hand to his right shoulder, which had previously had puncture holes in it before Madam Parks healed it.
"Not at all, Moony!" said Sirius hurriedly as he tried to reassure his fairer-haired friend. "It was perfectly in control."
"Completely," James agreed, nodding vigorously.
"Totally."
"Undeniably--"
Remus' laugh interrupted the duo's tirade. "Glad to see you two back on civil terms," he said, smiling warmly.
Sirius gave a non-committed shrug. "James decided life as a Muggle hobo wouldn't be any funy without me," he replied with a dry tone.
Remus stifled a chuckle. "I'm sure."
"Anyway," said James impatiently as he tossed Sirius a look. "How are you feeling?" he asked of Remus.
"How I always feel after a full moon," answered Remus simply. "Tired and sore."
Sirius muttered something about soreness and his arm, which cause Remus to look at him funny, which--in turn--made Sirius clear his throat and say, "Well, look at the bright side. You get to skip classes for two days."
"And I only had to grow fur to do it," responded Remus dryly.
"Mm..." murmured Sirius, rubbing his chin which had obviously not been shaved since early that morning. "I guess this isn't enough."
Remus laughed at his friend&'s actions. "Go shave, Padfoot."
"Nah," said the rough-faced teen with a bright smile. "I hear scruffiness is in this time of the year."
"Oh, yes," James put in suddenly. "The girls really go for it."
Sirius turned to James with a malicious glint in his eye as if he knew he had an idea to get James ruffled. "Maybe you should try it. When was the last time you went out?"
James' face turned red in embarrassment. "That--" he began, only to be interrupted by Remus answering, "Last March, if I recall correctly."
"Remus!" shouted James, appalled that the two of them were teaming up on him. Sirius rose an eyebrow at Remus and then looked to the embarrassed James, shaking his head.
"You really need a girlfriend, man," he said, while James' face went from red with embarrassment to red with mild anger.
"No, I don't," said the red-faced boy firmly. Sirius ignored him and seemed to be in thought about possible suitors for the bespectacled teen.
"I know--!" he shouted in triumph, having thinking of the best one.
"Sirius!" interrupted James sharply, making his friend look up at him with an obviously-fake innocent look.
"What?" he queried in false confusion.
"Not. Evans," said James evenly and through gritted teeth. Sirius looked around the room in mild bewilderment, making Remus chuckle.
"Who said anything about Lily?" James didn't fall for the innocent act.
"Oh, no...I'm not falling for that look," he stated, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the other boy, who gave a wide-eyed look.
"What look?" asked Sirius before Remus, who had been chuckling at the whole thing, cocked his head to the side and leaned toward the door.
"Hey, guys," he said, gaining the duo's attention as he listened to something that James and Sirius' human ears could not catch, "I think Madam Parks is coming."
"Damn," hissed Sirius meaningfully, making Remus look curiously at him, while James tossed his invisibility cloak over the taller boy before looking to his other friend.
"Later, Moony," he said in farewell as he also covered himself with the cloak.
And not a moment too soon, either. Madam Parks opened the door to the Wing and walked in, carrying some trays of supplies to the other side of the room.
She never saw that Remus was actually awake, trying to smother his chuckles that came as a result of his visit from his friends. Nor did she see the Wing door open just a little way to admit passage to two invisible mischievous boys. Instead, she went into a room on the far side of the Wing and remained in there until long after Remus had actually fallen asleep.
Two days after the full moon and the night before Remus was to be released from the Hospital Wing, James and Sirius were, yet again, up later than some should be; though this time they remained inside their own tower. Sirius had just stretched and yawned, saying he was going to turn in and wanting to know if James was, too, when the second boy shook his head tiredly.
"How can you not be tired?" asked Sirius with a bit of agitation, knowing that his friend was refusing to sleep becuse of the night-terrors he had been having of the late. "You look dead on your feet."
James shook his head in denial and replied with a yawn interrupting slightly, "I'm...--ot..."
Sirius stared at him for a moment before nodding in false and disbelieving agreement. "Uh, huh. Sure," he said before turning to go to the dormitory. "You stay up then. See you tomorrow."
James was just beginning to nod off at just-past two o'clock, when he heard a dull thump which startled him awake. He turned to see who it was and was surprised to see that Peter, who had been absent for most of the day, was standing stock-still on the last step of the stairs leading up to the boy's dormitories.
"Peter?" asked James, squinting a bit since his eyes weren't working properly with exhaustion, causing them to blur. "Why are you up?"
Peter looked as if he was hesitating with giving an answer, and that should have been odd to James if he wasn't too tired to notice.
"I got hungry," said Peter weakly.
"Oh." James leaned back against the couch he was sprawled on before noticing an object his friend was holding. "What's that?"
"Erm..." Peter seemed to look nervous about giving an answer. "Your cloak," he answered, and James realized why he would be nervous. "I was going to bring it back."
James waved off the explanation, while giving a yawn. "It's okay. Have fun."
Peter seemed to look relieved and headed toward the portrait. "Thanks," he said in graditude. James gave a slight nod, but he did not even hear Peter open the protrait as he drifted off to sleep.
"I knew you'd be exhausted," said Sirius gruffly the next morning as a blurry-eyed James Potter sat across from him, keeping his head up only by resting it on his fist, which only stayed upright by his elbow being on the table.
"'m fine," argued James tiredly as his elbow slipped a little, making his face nearly fall onto his plate filled with eggs and bacon. Sirius gave him an exasperated look.
"You're practically sleep in your breakfast," he said, gesturing to the plate while James yawned.
"'m..." James began to reply, but his eyes closed just as he was going to speak and his head nearly fell off of his fist.
"Did you get any sleep?" asked Remus, who had managed to escape Madam Parks' care before breakfast had started. James, who had been startled awake by the slip of his head, blinked once--twice--and propped his head back onto his fist.
"...'ittle..." he yawned, his eyes shutting on their own yet again.
"James..." said Remus in concern for his friend's condition. Sirius, however, was getting upset that his closest friend was hurting himself by not getting any rest.
"Okay, I can't take it anymore," he said, dropping his fork to his plate, waking James some and startling Remus. "What is the secret, James?"
"No, Sirius..." murmured James, sitting up awake from his fist, bringing his other elbow onto the table, and resting his head onto his hands, shielding his eyes with his fingers.
"You think his insomnia's from that?" asked Remus in bewilderment.
Sirius looked disgruntled as he watched the tired boy across from him. "I've known he was having trouble sleeping since the first day of school."
Remus looked to James, startled. "James?" he asked.
James didn't reply.
Sirius snorted. "Don't do it delicately, Remus," he said, his voice gruff. "He's too tired to get pissed off."
Remus looked from James to Sirius and sighed. "Just leave him alone right now, Padfoot," he said quietly.
Typically, James' out-of-it state remained all through all of his classes. None of the professors chose to comment on this, except Professor McGonagall.
"Mister Potter," she said, her voice still as severe as ever even though James looked quite pathetic as he tiredly lifted his head to look at the witch. "See me after class."
James gave a small nod, and the witch went back to her lecture on how not to get yourself stuck in half-way self-transfiguration. Sirius, who sat beside James, glowered at his friend before turning to Remus, who was paying attention and answering questions Peter, who was taking notes, had.
"You know," said Sirius to Remus in a whisper, "maybe we should--"
"No," said Remus with a sigh. "We're not using any potion on him."
Sirius grunted in obvious annoyance. "Well, how else--
"Shut up," mumbled James, who had heard the whole thing, though he looked like he was studying his notes rather closely with his face right on top of his parchment.
"Don't tell me to 'shut up,' Mister See-Me-After-Class," snapped Sirius, who looked quite upset, indeed. McGonagall seemed to notice this, for she snapped the book she had been reciting out of shut with a frown.
"Mister Black," she barked loudly, gaining the boy's attention and waking the other--sleeping--boy slightly. "Have you something to say?
"Yes, actually," said Sirius, standing up and making everyone stare at him oddly, including McGonagall. "I believe James here should sleep when he is supposed to."
James groaned and covered his face with his hands while Remus shook his head, and Peter seemed to be writing notes that hadn't even been said yet. McGonagall pursed her lips into a thin line and glance at the groaning teen before looking to the standing one.
"Although I agree with your statement," she said firmly, "I would appreciate it if you were to pay attention."
Sirius nodded. "Yes, Professor," he said and he once again took his seat. McGonagall watched him for a moment more before opening the book back up and continuing her lesson, to which Sirius actually paid attention to.
"James." Something seemed to shake the sleeping boy, who merely made a sound of annoyance. "James, wake up, lad."
"Sm..." murmured the tired teenager before burying his head into his arm more.
"He drank some Sleeping Draught of the Dead, hasn't he?" asked a second voice, which made James shift slightly in his half-consciouse state. An amused chuckle came from in front of him and made him relax further.
"I'd doubt it, Mister Black," said the voice which had chuckled. "Mister Potter is just extremely exhausted."
There was a snort of annoyance and the sound of shifting cloth.
"I told him to go to bed last night," the second voice--Sirius--grumbled.
"And convincing job it must have been," replied the first voice dryly.
Sirius snorted again. "Ah, quiet you."
"Well, Albus?" questioned a woman's voice from behind James. "Have you an idea of what to do?"
The third voice, Dumbledore's, answered with an amused quality, "None, but I'm sure he'll be fine after some sleep."
Sleep...yes, that sound like the thing he really needed right then. Good old Dumbledore allowing him to get away with yet another unorthodox problem. Who had ever heard of someone being excused from classes because he couldn't keep his eyes open for no more than two seconds?
"So...we just leave him here?" A low chuckle resulted from the seemingly obvious question that had come from Sirius.
"No, Mister Black," said Dumbledore, "you and Mister Lupin will take Mister Potter to your Common Room and let him rest on the couch."
"Why not his bed?" queried the first voice, which must have belonged to Remus.
"Perhaps," responded Dumbledore, patiently, "it would be best to let him sleep elsewhere for the moment. You both are excused from your classes--"
"Really, Albus!" objected McGonagall loudly. "It doesn't take the two of them to watch over Potter--"
"I must insist, Minerva."
There was a moment of silence and then a sigh. "...if that's what you believe is best, Albus," McGonagall stated as she yielded to his order. "I shall inform your teachers--what is it, Black?"
The exasperated sigh from the older witch was quite humorous.
"Professor Bulstrode's going to give Gryffindor tons of homework he'll expect us to ha--"
"I shall speak with him about it," assured Dumbledore's voice. "Now, run along. Mister Black. Mister Lupin."
When James next awoke from his slumber, he found himself just where Dumbledore had said for him to be. The Gryffindor Common Room on the couch. A bit disorientated, as he wasn't very sure how long he had been asleep or how he had exactly gotten there, he just stared at the couch's red fabric, allowing him some time to wake fully. When he felt he had enough time studying the sitching of the cushions, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, which were relieved of his glasses at the moment.
Though everything was fuzzy, he knew no one was in the room with him.
"Probably upstairs," he muttered to himself as he swung his legs off of the couch, yawning and stretching as he did so.
"Ah, so Sleeping Beauty does wake up!" said a voice with a giddy tone, accompanied by the sound of someone coming downt he stairs and jogging over to the couch. "Was wondering when you'd decide you weren't tired anymore."
James had to back up a bit as Sirius shoved his face close to his, a big grin on the longer-haired boy's face. "Well, how long was I asleep?" asked James curiously, undaunted by how close his friend was. Sirius usually did this when James was without his glases, that way the nearly-blind boy could see all of his facial expressions.
Right then, Sirius looked none-too happy about the question.
"All day yesterday and last night!" he said with a frown before sticking a finger under his friend's nose. "I told you you should have gone to bed! You know, you really should listen to me sometimes. I'm not a total idiot."
"Only when it's the wrong time, Padfoot," commented another voice from the stairs. Both James and Sirius looked over and James could barely make out the form of his fairer-haired friend Remus, who was walking over and holding out something in his hand. "Here, James, get these on before you strain your eyes too much."
"You didn't do anything to them, did you?" questioned James cautiously as he took the glasses and studied them suspiciously.
Remus gave a small grin. "Don't worry, I had them the whole time."
With a frown in Sirius' direction, James put the glasses on, making everything come into clear quality...including Sirius' face.
"Argh! Sirius! Get your ugly mug away!" he exclaimed, shoving at his friend, who gave a small laugh before standing straight and putting his hands on his hips.
"You're sure one to talk. You're hair's worse than ever!" James scowled and tried to smooth down his hair in annoyance.
"I'd like to remind you that I look this way every morning," he said with annoyance.
"Which is why I scream whenever you wake me up," laughed Sirius while Remus stifled a laugh. Indeed, there had been several occassions where the boys had been awaken to Sirius' screams that there was some hideous beast standing over him. It was, of course, all in good fun.
"Whatever." James rolled his eyes, standing. "I'm going to take a shower. You guys wait up for me, okay?"
"Sure," replied Remus, since Sirius wasn't acting at all seriously. Both Remus and Sirius were already dressed for their day, since it was rather later than when they usually woke up. James, however, still wore the outfit he had worn the other day, minus his shoes, robe, and tie.
Jams, not thinking or caring where he was, took off the grey vest he wore over his white, long-sleeve shirt and tossed it on the couch as he began to head toward the dormitories, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.
"Hey, James," called Sirius as if he had just remembered something. James turned to him with a questioning look. "Just so you know: the house-elves came and cleaned up your bed area, so your clothes should be--"
"What's that?" interrupted Remus suddenly, making both dark-haired boys look to him in confusion. James was the first to realize what he was talking about and quickly hid away the object that hung around his neck.
"It's nothing," he said with a nervous tone. "Don't worry about it, Remus."
"No, wait," objected Sirius, "I want to see--"
"It's not anything," insisted James. "Seriously!"
"James, was that--?" Remus began to question quietly before Sirius walked passed him and over to James.
"Come on, James," the taller boy said seriously. "Hiding things about what happened to you is one thing. Hiding things we can see is totally different. Let me see."
"Come on, Padfoot, leave me alone, all right?" James tried to get away but was grabbed by the collar of his shirt.
"Oh, no, you don't," said Sirius firmly. "You're staying right here."
"Sirius," Remus spoke up as he came over, "let go of James for a moment." The other boy did so grudgingly and James resigned himself to being interrogated. "Now, James, is that what I think it is?"
Here there bespectacled teen looked up in surprise before he gained a pained look. "You...know what it is?"
"I believe I've seen it in a book I've read just recently," answered the werewolf honestly, "and if it's what I think it is, then there's no reason to hide it anymore, is there?"
James sighed and looked between his two friends, suddenly feeling very, very small. "I got it last year. After...well, Dumbledore was the one that gave me the chain, but Mum was the one who gave it to me," he said before pulling out the object. A pendent that consisted of a red stone surrounded with gold hung on a chain of gold.
Sirius blinked. "Well...that certainly looks...extravagant, doesn't it?"
Remus, however, stared at it with semi-wide eyes. "It is it? My goodness, James...you've been hiding that from us? I can hardly believe it!"
"What?" asked Sirius, obviously lost.
James gave Remus a sad sort of smile. "I was't supposed to let anyone know about it, so I guess you guys will have to keep it a secret, too."
"How can I keep it a secret if I don't know what it is?" asked Sirius, sounding agitated that he was being ignored.
Remus looked over to him and patiently answered, "Sirius, that stone James's wearing is a sort of amulet. Or at least that's how the book described it. I didn't think it was even real. The book was old and very much out of date, but I suppose it was accurate to a fault. This...amulet is a marker--a symbol, if you will."
"For what?" Sirius was obviously very curious about what his close friend had been hiding.
"In the book," said Remus, looking at the ground thoughtfully, "it spoke of heirlooms of the greatest wizards of time. The author was in the belief that the heirs of the wizards would be given these heirlooms and they would signify both their birthright and their power. What James is wearing is one of these heirlooms. It's original owner is quite obvious, as its colors give it away. Scarlet and gold were, of course, the owner's personal colors. As were they Godric Gryffindor's." The lighter-haired teen looked up at Sirius with a bit of a smile as he then gestured to James. "Sirius, I'd like you to meet the Heir of Gryffindor."
There was a moment of silence.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Them Girl: ^.^" Um...you're welcome. ^.^" Don't rememeber why you're thanking me ((Javexalot: *pokes me and points out the next part of the review*)) Oh, yeah...Well, like I said, emails are no problem. I really don't mind too much about people changing their emails. I just hate it when they change their user name. So confusing @.@. Yes! Long chapters ROCK! I LOVE long chapters to DEATH. I guess that's why I'm wondering why my GW fic isn't doing so well *sweatdrops* They're 50-60 KB long each and no one will read it! WAH! *coughs* Anyway...yes, I love how Lily is like that. In fact I love her character, I didn't really know how to picture her at first, but the idea just came into my head one day when my older sister said I was easy to read. I dunno...Lily just seems the type that would be that way. ^.^" Glad you liked it! Hope you read this chapter, too!
Ariana: It might take you a while to check your email, but it takes me FOREVER to write the next chapter! *nervous laugh* Yes, in fact, I DID do well on my finals. Only a B in Free Enterprise I think *sweatdrops* I think that's because the teacher was Coach Ingram and he gives out REAL hard tests to his honor classes *sighs* I hope you did well on all of your tests and projects *remembers the timeline she failed to turn in* v.v (hopefully it won't hurt my grade in English). Yeah, it really does suck when friends fight, but what I hate worse is how friends just dift away. It's really sad how that happens at times. It's happened to me plenty of times, espeically with my online friends v.v But, have no fear for they HAVE made up(as you have read in this chapter). Also, no it wasn't a scheme for James and Sirius to make up(as you have read). You know, when I wrote this, I realized that werewolves are kind of scary, since they are a lot like wolves, but not so scary that they should be mistreated while they're humans! *holds up "I suppose Lupin" sign* Down with evil people who hate him in the book! The meanies! :P Oh, James, will eventually get to the point where he'll tell what happened that day. In fact, it should be around the corner. I can't tell when exactly, because I don't have any script past the point of Chapter Nine, but I'll tell you that it's soon. You know what really annoys me about James is that when I write him, he seems to come alive and make the stupidest mistakes(if that makes any sense *sweatdrops*) I'll tell you this much: he DOES learn that lesson about his friends. What I can't tell you is whether he'll remember or not...-.-" When will he admit to liking Lily? ^.^" Yet again, that's around the corner. Not telling if he tells Lily or not, though ^.^ Thanks for the review!
alexz: ^.^" Wrote more! (wow, shortest response! ^.^)
Y. Kuang: *mouth hangs open before she drops to the ground* Oh, THANK YOU for this wonderful review! I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw you had reviewed again! I mean...wow...it's not everyday one of my favorite fanfic authors review my works. It just...blew me away. *stares worshipingly* ((Javexalot: *pokes my head* Thou shouldeth continue with thy review.)) Huh? Oh, yeah...^.^ Yes, I really enjoy writing Lily, as I have said in one of my previous responses. I just feel that she wouldn't be the type that would let herself be known so quickly by others, especially if that person was a certain someone. ^.~ I also found it more realistic if she would let James know little-by-little about who she is and how she is like. I mean, it's not like she's going to all of a sudden tell him everything, what with their past history. That's what bothers me about some stories I've read. They make things too easy for the characters and it doesn't seem as real. I didn't really know that people would actually look forward to her appearances though *blushes* Ease and eloquence? Man, I thought it was all the way rocky, but you say there's only one rocky section. *shrugs* I guess that just proves I'm my own worse critic. I think the ending scene in this chapter is a little rocky as well, could you tell me if it is? I'll look into it if it is. ^.^ Thank you for the compliments. I try my hardest to fit the whole story together, that way when you read it, you'll not want to miss anything since each chapter has to do with something that happened in the previous one. Eh...but...um...*blushes* Wow...so many compliments! I'm so hapy that you looked for this fic, and yes, it had been buried under all of holiday fics. I was hoping that you guys would find it, since it was on page two in at least an hour after it showed up in the HP section. Thank goodness you did find it, or else I would have missed out on all of these wonderful reviews! My characters are very developed? *blushes agian, but clears throat* Well, I'm glad you think so. I didn't want them to be so two-dimensional. I mean, what author would? James...well...he really is a character. I love writting him because throughtout this fic he has problems that are kind of like problems any person would face and he reacts the same way anybody else would under the circumstances. ugh...about those Lily fics. I hate it when they say she's smart and all of that, but then she giggles like a little school girl over the most RIDICULOUS things! And I really dislike how some people put in present-day material as well. It's certainly annoying, since she lived in the 70s. American slang? Well, I try to avoid that in my story, though it might show up once in a while. I mean, I'm American and I haven't been outside of my country so I have no earthly clue about how other countries are(minus Japan, which I've been getting into since I'm obsessive about anime). I am SO lgad you still enjoy my fic! I wasn't sure if your reviewing the first time was a fluke or what, but you reviewed again! Thank you so much for the lovely compliments! *begins to blush again*
HPdreamer15: Hehe...the 'Sir Knight' bit is going to be an on-going joke for Lily and James. I think it really brings some flavor into their conversations and such. *blushes* I'm glad you really do love this fic. You don't kno how glad. In fact, hearing that really makes my day since my GW fic just splattered on the pavement -.- People seem to like my LOTR fic, though I think it's kind of silly. Maybe because the idea's different? O.o? ^.^ More was posted and I hope you've enjoyed! ^.^
Tempest: Of course I dedicated it to you! I'd be insane if I didn't dedicate one for you, girl! ^.^" Btw, sorry I haven't read your fic if you've updated. Been real busy, you know? ^.^ Well, I'm glad you liked the chapter I dedicated for you. ^.^" Dramatic music as you read? Well, gee! *blushes* That certainly IS a compliment, right there! I think that's one of the best things someone can say! Wow! Thanks for that one! ^.^ Eh...free reign to rush a genius *sweatdrops* ^.^" Sorry I've been not-rushing then! ^.^" Like I said, been real busy! I hope you've read this chapter and enjoyed it!
rebekah: You mean it WASN'T cliched? *sweatdrops* There are so many things that are cliche in this fic, I was wondering if someone would call them on me, but I guess I haven't really gotten to the real cliche things. Either that, or it's the delivery. *blushes* Glad you think it's non-cliche. I really loved writing the scenes you mentioned. I mean the poetry and the fighting...it just seems to HAVE to be there. *snickers* Yes, James was acting like Hamlet, ne?(haven't seen or read the play yet though) Yeah, I know the Halloween thing was totally obvious, but I like somethings to be that way ^.^ Don't worry about a review being long! I LOVE long reviews! Review your heart out! *blinks* Faves? *blushes* Well, gee! What a wonderful surprise! Thank you very much! Hope you come back and read this chapter as well!
um... How could I leave a cliffy? Very easily *evil grin* Oh, dear...I hope you didn't die because I didn't have this out sooner *worried look* ^.^" If you didn't I hope you read this chapter and liked it as well. Thanks!
meg: But cliffies are good! ^.^" Glad you've enjoyed it! And yes, you do you a lot of those, but I use a lot of '...'s ^.^ Though FF.N's bugging me since it's been deleting words or punctuatios that's more than a certain number. I swear if they take out one period in this chapter, I'll scream. *nods* Well, thanks for the review! ^.~
Musicizbest:Oopsie...should have continued ^.^" Sowwy! Glad you've liked my fic and don't worry, I get confused easily too. ^.^"
Reluxi: Should I be insulted by that joke? :P Lol, just kidding. Thank you for finding my fic enjoyable. Hehe. Yes, I love Sirius too. He's just ADORABLE! ^.^" I love writing him too since I don't have to worry about him being too out of character. He's a very emotional guy and wear his emotions on his sleeves. ^.^" Glad you liked to Scottish joke thing too! That was kind of put there randomly when my friend made me think of it. She's my Scottish twin, as I call her. ^.^" Yes, Sirius is Scottish people! All hail the mighty Scottish Sirius who wears a kilt! *bows* Hehe. I should hope that their arguing isn't so juvenile. ^.^" Otherwise, I'd be horrified to call myself a decent writer. I mean, sure those insults are good when they're not into it or whatever, but I mean come on...Hehe. The secret stuff's going to be explained more in the next chapter, so no worries. Also, here's a tip. Don't make that squinty face. FF.N doesn't take it well, since it's like an html coding of a sort, so it'll delete everything after it, as you might have found out. ^.^ Thanks for the review and I'm glad you enjoyed it as well! ^.^