Living A Legend
Book 2- The Price of Glory
Chapter 10- Punishments and Practices
Dumbledore emerged from his inner office clad in a purple fluffy bathrobe and feathered slippers. He looked sternly down at the four Marauders through his black rimmed spectacles, but his apparel was so ridiculous that James couldn't help but be relieved in some degree.
"Well boys, it seems as if you have been causing trouble yet again. I cannot say I do not wish you had waited until daylight to make nuisances of yourselves. It was a bit rude to wake me up at such a ridiculous hour, but I suppose that is the nature of my line of work," he muttered thoughtfully as he settled himself in a large fluffy chair directly across from the boys.
James and Sirius exchanged looks of newfound confidence. Remus still looked a bit queasy and Peter was whimpering sort of pathetically.
"As you well know, breaking into the girls dormitory is a serious crime. Overlooking even the prank that you pulled, it is a major offense. It is very hard for me to let this go with a simple warning. You invaded the privacy and safety of the girls in that dorm, according to school rules. I could expel the four of you easily under the school charter," Dumbledore said gravely.
He looked across at the boys. Dumbledore's normally cheerful eyes had lost their twinkle.
James looked back boldly. Sirius rolled his eyes. Remus looked down with guilt. Peter began to cry.
"However," Dumbledore said loudly, "I am willing to take into account the nature of the infringement. You are twelve year old boys, and it is hard to believe that you entered the girls dormitory with intent that serious harm be done. Yet, the facts remain. I will let each of you explain yourselves before I deal out punishments."
"Honestly Headmaster, we were only having a little joke. It was not a big deal at all. Only we had worked all night and thought that it would be fun to go wake up the girls. Really the bucket was an afterthought. It was just a stupid prank, you can't expel us for a stupid prank!" Sirius blurted out quickly.
Dumbledore nodded, as if considering Sirius's words. Then he turned to James. "What do you think, Mr. Potter?"
"Well, I think we made a mistake, that is all," James said quietly.
Sirius shot James a strange look as if to chastise him for admitting it.
Remus began next, "Professor Dumbledore, I am sorry, we are sorry. It was not a very nice prank at all, I suppose."
"Yes, well," Dumbledore nodded. "Mr. Lupin, I am sure was the one who kept things from going any further. And Peter, what have you to say about your actions on this night?"
Peter looked around nervously and finally fixed his eyes on Sirius. "I… I… they made me do it! It was all Sirius's fault! I didn't want to go, I knew it was a bad idea, but they made me. They said that if I didn't go they would not be friends with me anymore, honest, Headmaster!"
Dumbledore glared down at Peter for a moment more, sadly shaking his head. "It is never a good things to betray your friends, and deny your own part," he whispered softly. "That aside, I can see that tonight's incident was nothing more than a prank gone bad. Still, such a transgression cannot go unpunished."
"More detentions?" Sirius asked calmly.
"Yes, Mr. Black, more detentions. Each of you will serve seven detentions, each night this week," Dumbledore proclaimed.
"But, we will miss Quidditch practice!" James protested suddenly.
At the same time Sirius called out, "That's not fair! We will miss Quidditch!"
"Ah," Dumbledore acknowledged, "That is a problem. Then again, it is the nature of punishment to deny us what we want."
The boys left the office grumbling, Sirius kept shooting Peter dirty looks.
It was hard for Brittany to decide who was more of a disaster. Jackie was having fits over her ruined clothing, and Lily was crying as Dora picked spiders and mold out of her short hair. Accordingly, Brittany was the one who was left to clean up the mess. Even with her wand to assist her, there seemed an abundance of disgusting things clinging to the walls, the blankets and the people in the room. It took a great deal of wand waving to even begin to clean it up.
At breakfast, the four girls were in very bad shape. Lily confided to Bellatrix, who was very sympathetic.
"Those boys are awful!" Bellatrix exclaimed, "I swear, Sirius has to be the worst cousin I have, though it is a close call between he and Nymphadora."
"I feel so sorry for you Bella, to have cousins like that. There were times when I almost saw them as human beings. But now, I realize how terrible they really are. I am so glad we are friends now, we can talk about how much we hate them together," Lily confided.
Brittany and Dora enjoyed the opportunity to fume also. Only Jackie, as upset as she was over her ruined wardrobe, did not eagerly sympathize with Bellatrix. Something about the dark haired first year did not seem right to Jackie.
Roderick was furious when James and Sirius sadly explained their plans for missing a week of practice.
"I can't believe that one week into the Quidditch season the two of you are already putting practice second! Is some stupid prank really worth more than the Gryffindor team?" Roderick asked in frustration.
James simply shook his head sheepishly, avoiding eye-contact with the famous Quidditch player.
"Your problem is really with Professor Dumbledore, you know," Sirius insisted. "He could have scheduled our detentions around Quidditch, like we asked, but he doesn't seem to appreciate the sport at all."
Roderick grinned menacingly, and both Sirius and James began to feel a little nervous.
"Luckily, there is a way for you two to compensate," Roderick added in a pleasant tone.
"What do you mean?" James asked curiously.
The Quidditch captain only smiled.
"This," Sirius insisted, "is crap."
James nodded sleepily and shivered.
The two boys stood half frozen on the Quidditch green, fully clothed with brooms in hand. The sky was dark above them, not a single star glittered above them.
"We spend half the night getting rid of doxies in the greenhouses. Half an hour of sleep later, here we stand on a dark, cold Quidditch field at the request of Charles, who by the way is nowhere in sight!" Sirius continued angrily.
"Four o'clock in the morning is much to early for me to be awake. I swear, the half hour of sleep only made it worse," James added.
"I'm going to kill Roderick!" Sirius exclaimed suddenly. "It is so bleeding cold! What's worse we haven't had a sight of our wonderful Quidditch hero. Do you know what I think, mate, I say the Roderick is a bloody prat!"
"Bloody prat or not, I must ask why the two of you are still standing about on the ground. Quidditch is generally played in the air. Practicing on foot does not seem to be doing you much good," Roderick said, coming out suddenly from the darkness.
Sirius cursed loudly, but James only dragged his sleepy self onto his broom.
"We are going to begin this morning's practice with an agility exercise. Sirius, I want you to weave between the poles of the hoops on the far end of the field. Go as quickly as you can without crashing into the poles. If you go fast enough I will let you go in time for breakfast. James, you will do the same on the other set of poles. Do not be lazy, I want to see you going quickly, it might be harder than you think.
Sirius rolled his eyes, hoping rather for some actual practice with bludgers, but sped off towards the poles with haste. James, invigorated simply by mounting his broom, was content with the excursive, any sort of flying was welcome to him.
Sirius's confidence faded very quickly when he found that weaving between the poles was not quite as simple as he had believed. Though he could fly very fast, he was not used to having to use accuracy when turning. The result was catastrophic.
Roderick was extremely amused to hear Sirius crashing repeatedly into the metal poles, cursing loudly as he went.
On the other end of the field, James was having much better luck. One would have thought that he was a natural, compared to Sirius's clumsy blundering and frequent falls. It had taken James a few tries to realize just the right way to turn so that he avoided the column and still maintained his speed, but once he figured it out he was golden.
After giving Sirius several pointers, and shouting encouragement, Roderick flew across the field to James, flying close beside him on his loops.
"James, I am quite impressed. I never knew your brother, but from what I have been told, he was an amazing seeker. He would be proud of you, for you are certainly living up to his legend," John called to him, while in the air.
James swallowed hard, a bit uncomfortable with hearing John's name thrown about. Yet, he knew that Roderick had not meant to infringe. Most of the time he was okay with the fact that his brother was gone, but at times he still became overwhelmed with grief.
He fought against the desire to react and only leaned forward on his broomstick to fly faster.
Book 2- The Price of Glory
Chapter 10- Punishments and Practices
Dumbledore emerged from his inner office clad in a purple fluffy bathrobe and feathered slippers. He looked sternly down at the four Marauders through his black rimmed spectacles, but his apparel was so ridiculous that James couldn't help but be relieved in some degree.
"Well boys, it seems as if you have been causing trouble yet again. I cannot say I do not wish you had waited until daylight to make nuisances of yourselves. It was a bit rude to wake me up at such a ridiculous hour, but I suppose that is the nature of my line of work," he muttered thoughtfully as he settled himself in a large fluffy chair directly across from the boys.
James and Sirius exchanged looks of newfound confidence. Remus still looked a bit queasy and Peter was whimpering sort of pathetically.
"As you well know, breaking into the girls dormitory is a serious crime. Overlooking even the prank that you pulled, it is a major offense. It is very hard for me to let this go with a simple warning. You invaded the privacy and safety of the girls in that dorm, according to school rules. I could expel the four of you easily under the school charter," Dumbledore said gravely.
He looked across at the boys. Dumbledore's normally cheerful eyes had lost their twinkle.
James looked back boldly. Sirius rolled his eyes. Remus looked down with guilt. Peter began to cry.
"However," Dumbledore said loudly, "I am willing to take into account the nature of the infringement. You are twelve year old boys, and it is hard to believe that you entered the girls dormitory with intent that serious harm be done. Yet, the facts remain. I will let each of you explain yourselves before I deal out punishments."
"Honestly Headmaster, we were only having a little joke. It was not a big deal at all. Only we had worked all night and thought that it would be fun to go wake up the girls. Really the bucket was an afterthought. It was just a stupid prank, you can't expel us for a stupid prank!" Sirius blurted out quickly.
Dumbledore nodded, as if considering Sirius's words. Then he turned to James. "What do you think, Mr. Potter?"
"Well, I think we made a mistake, that is all," James said quietly.
Sirius shot James a strange look as if to chastise him for admitting it.
Remus began next, "Professor Dumbledore, I am sorry, we are sorry. It was not a very nice prank at all, I suppose."
"Yes, well," Dumbledore nodded. "Mr. Lupin, I am sure was the one who kept things from going any further. And Peter, what have you to say about your actions on this night?"
Peter looked around nervously and finally fixed his eyes on Sirius. "I… I… they made me do it! It was all Sirius's fault! I didn't want to go, I knew it was a bad idea, but they made me. They said that if I didn't go they would not be friends with me anymore, honest, Headmaster!"
Dumbledore glared down at Peter for a moment more, sadly shaking his head. "It is never a good things to betray your friends, and deny your own part," he whispered softly. "That aside, I can see that tonight's incident was nothing more than a prank gone bad. Still, such a transgression cannot go unpunished."
"More detentions?" Sirius asked calmly.
"Yes, Mr. Black, more detentions. Each of you will serve seven detentions, each night this week," Dumbledore proclaimed.
"But, we will miss Quidditch practice!" James protested suddenly.
At the same time Sirius called out, "That's not fair! We will miss Quidditch!"
"Ah," Dumbledore acknowledged, "That is a problem. Then again, it is the nature of punishment to deny us what we want."
The boys left the office grumbling, Sirius kept shooting Peter dirty looks.
It was hard for Brittany to decide who was more of a disaster. Jackie was having fits over her ruined clothing, and Lily was crying as Dora picked spiders and mold out of her short hair. Accordingly, Brittany was the one who was left to clean up the mess. Even with her wand to assist her, there seemed an abundance of disgusting things clinging to the walls, the blankets and the people in the room. It took a great deal of wand waving to even begin to clean it up.
At breakfast, the four girls were in very bad shape. Lily confided to Bellatrix, who was very sympathetic.
"Those boys are awful!" Bellatrix exclaimed, "I swear, Sirius has to be the worst cousin I have, though it is a close call between he and Nymphadora."
"I feel so sorry for you Bella, to have cousins like that. There were times when I almost saw them as human beings. But now, I realize how terrible they really are. I am so glad we are friends now, we can talk about how much we hate them together," Lily confided.
Brittany and Dora enjoyed the opportunity to fume also. Only Jackie, as upset as she was over her ruined wardrobe, did not eagerly sympathize with Bellatrix. Something about the dark haired first year did not seem right to Jackie.
Roderick was furious when James and Sirius sadly explained their plans for missing a week of practice.
"I can't believe that one week into the Quidditch season the two of you are already putting practice second! Is some stupid prank really worth more than the Gryffindor team?" Roderick asked in frustration.
James simply shook his head sheepishly, avoiding eye-contact with the famous Quidditch player.
"Your problem is really with Professor Dumbledore, you know," Sirius insisted. "He could have scheduled our detentions around Quidditch, like we asked, but he doesn't seem to appreciate the sport at all."
Roderick grinned menacingly, and both Sirius and James began to feel a little nervous.
"Luckily, there is a way for you two to compensate," Roderick added in a pleasant tone.
"What do you mean?" James asked curiously.
The Quidditch captain only smiled.
"This," Sirius insisted, "is crap."
James nodded sleepily and shivered.
The two boys stood half frozen on the Quidditch green, fully clothed with brooms in hand. The sky was dark above them, not a single star glittered above them.
"We spend half the night getting rid of doxies in the greenhouses. Half an hour of sleep later, here we stand on a dark, cold Quidditch field at the request of Charles, who by the way is nowhere in sight!" Sirius continued angrily.
"Four o'clock in the morning is much to early for me to be awake. I swear, the half hour of sleep only made it worse," James added.
"I'm going to kill Roderick!" Sirius exclaimed suddenly. "It is so bleeding cold! What's worse we haven't had a sight of our wonderful Quidditch hero. Do you know what I think, mate, I say the Roderick is a bloody prat!"
"Bloody prat or not, I must ask why the two of you are still standing about on the ground. Quidditch is generally played in the air. Practicing on foot does not seem to be doing you much good," Roderick said, coming out suddenly from the darkness.
Sirius cursed loudly, but James only dragged his sleepy self onto his broom.
"We are going to begin this morning's practice with an agility exercise. Sirius, I want you to weave between the poles of the hoops on the far end of the field. Go as quickly as you can without crashing into the poles. If you go fast enough I will let you go in time for breakfast. James, you will do the same on the other set of poles. Do not be lazy, I want to see you going quickly, it might be harder than you think.
Sirius rolled his eyes, hoping rather for some actual practice with bludgers, but sped off towards the poles with haste. James, invigorated simply by mounting his broom, was content with the excursive, any sort of flying was welcome to him.
Sirius's confidence faded very quickly when he found that weaving between the poles was not quite as simple as he had believed. Though he could fly very fast, he was not used to having to use accuracy when turning. The result was catastrophic.
Roderick was extremely amused to hear Sirius crashing repeatedly into the metal poles, cursing loudly as he went.
On the other end of the field, James was having much better luck. One would have thought that he was a natural, compared to Sirius's clumsy blundering and frequent falls. It had taken James a few tries to realize just the right way to turn so that he avoided the column and still maintained his speed, but once he figured it out he was golden.
After giving Sirius several pointers, and shouting encouragement, Roderick flew across the field to James, flying close beside him on his loops.
"James, I am quite impressed. I never knew your brother, but from what I have been told, he was an amazing seeker. He would be proud of you, for you are certainly living up to his legend," John called to him, while in the air.
James swallowed hard, a bit uncomfortable with hearing John's name thrown about. Yet, he knew that Roderick had not meant to infringe. Most of the time he was okay with the fact that his brother was gone, but at times he still became overwhelmed with grief.
He fought against the desire to react and only leaned forward on his broomstick to fly faster.