CHAPTER NINE
TRY-OUTS PART ONE
As Lily made her announcement, a small group of girls crowded around Lily. As a joke, Sirius also came, holding a pair of pom-poms.
"You are trying out? Don't you play Quidditch?" Samira, half excited, half disgusted.
"Sure, why not? I can try out, even if I am a boy. No, a man." Sirius responded. "Anyways, I could probably cheer better than you." He said, and Samira flounced away, looking hurt.
Lily went out to the Quidditch field, the others following her. They started off by warming up and practicing some cheers. Then the try-outs began.
"Okay! As you all know, there are 2 spots to fill. Each of you will separately perform a cheer, then a dance. The rest of the squad and I will judge you. Results will be posted this weekend." Lily announced, her voice magically magnified. Jen stepped up.
"Anspach, Tabitha" a 2nd year girl went up to the outlined area and picked up her pom-poms. In a wobbly voice, she began her cheer. The squad watched as everybody auditioned: 1st years, 7th years, popular girls, bookworms, mean girls, and friendly ones. The funniest one was when Sirius got his turn.
"Black, Sirius!" Jen called amidst all the giggles. Sirius went up and began his cheer. It was so funny; him falling after every jump he attempted, and he ended the cheer by burping " LIONS!"
By the time he was finished, the girls were laughing so hard that they fell to the ground. The rest of the try-outs went smoothly; Sirius had broken the ice and the girls trying out weren't so nervous.
When the try-outs were over, Lily headed back to the kitchens for lunch. The rest of the day passed easily and without any problems.
"God! I'm beat. I never realized that the house-elves' work was so difficult. And we have to do it every month! I'm going to bed." Emily moaned, pulling the curtains around her bed.
"It wasn't t-that bad," Lily began, failing to stifle a yawn. "We only had to cook this time. We gotta clean next time." She said.
"Whatever." Emily said and waited to hear a 'shut-up' from Lily. When she heard none, she looked over and found Lily fast asleep.
Meanwhile, the boys couldn't fall asleep after eating so much ice cream at dinner. They were on a sugar high and kicked out of the boys' dorms.
" So, what should we do now?" Sirius said, bouncing up and down in his seat.
"Sirius, shut up, I'm trying to think." Remus complained.
"Oh, right okay." Sirius sunk back down into his seat. "Right. Not going to talk. Going to sit here and be very quiet. Not a word. Not a single word. Going to zippy the lippy. No speaky. Silent as a graveyard. Quiet as a mouse. When a problem comes along, you must zip it. Zip it good. I've got whole bag of "sssh" with your name on it. Remy don't. Remy." Sirius said and again he received a loud "Shut up!"
"Hey, why don't we explore the castle a bit? Go up to the seventh floor. We don't really have any classes there. Want to find out what's up there?" James asked.
Sirius looked excited, then dejected. "We tried, but the caretaker's assistant, Filch caught us.
"Well if that's all, your problem is solved. Hold on a minute." He said, sneaking back up the stairs. In exactly two minutes, and 37 seconds, according to Sirius, James came back. He was holding a flowy, silver object- thing in his hands.
"What is that?" Remus came over and asked curiously.
"This is the answer to our problems. It is an Invisibility Cloak." James said proudly. Remus looked excited, and Sirius still looked lost and confused.
"What?"
"Invisibility Cloak. Do you want me to spell it out for you? I-N-V-I- S-I-B-I-L- hey I never noticed how many "I's " there are in that word. Anyways, it'll make you invisible so no one can catch us." James explained.
" OHH." Sirius said, comprehension dawning on his face.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" James said, pulling the Invisibility Cloak over his two friends. They stepped out of the Gryffindor Common and headed up to the 7th floor. While exploring a corridor, they heard a call.
"James! Remus! Get over here! I've found something." Sirius called excitedly. The other two ran over to where Sirius was standing. He was standing in front of a potted plant.
"What? I don't see anything." Remus said, trying to push open the wall behind the plant.
"No, but if you do this." Sirius said and showed them a, well let's just say interesting, combination of steps. First he took 2 big steps, 4skips, 5 jumps back and a twirl in front of the plant. Slowly, the plant rotated and a door appeared on the once-blank wall. "You will."
"Great, but why were you doing that?" James asked, suppressing his laughter.
"Don't ask. I just remembered. On the third floor, by the statue of the old hag with a hump, I was holding my wand and I was trying to remember the password for the Gryffindor Tower. I was muttering and when I said 'Opium' it opened. All I saw was a small hallway before someone came and I had to close it. Why don't we go check it out?" Remus said.
"Great idea. First, let me put my own password for this. That was we won't have to dance next time we want to find out what's down there." James said, grinning. After they had finished sealing it off with another password, they headed down to the 3rd floor. Once there, they made sure that no one was in the hallway before taking off the cloak. They all hurried to the statue.
"OW!! Remus my foot!" Sirius yelled. Suddenly, they heard steps coming nearer.
"Quick! Come over here. There." James said, pulling the cloak over his friends.
"Whew. That was close!" Remus said, pretending to wipe sweat off his forehead. Suddenly, Argus Filch, the assistant caretaker appeared from around the corner. He shined the light in all corners, but didn't see the group of boys.
"Those maurdering fools. I wish I could have found out who it was so I could throw 'em out of the castle." Filch muttered, rounding the corner. The three boys sighed after he passed them.
"That was close. But I think that we should have sort of like a group name. I like the sound of the Lions. You know, to support Gryffindor." Remus said, thoughtfully.
"Yeah, but we sort of need a creative name. Something no one has ever used." Sirius said.
"Well, the only way is to make up a word. What about Marauders? That's a pretty unused word, so not many people will know the meaning." James suggested. The others agreed with the name.
"Well, now that we have decided on a name, I'm going to sleep. I'm beat!" Remus exclaimed, getting into bed. The others soon followed, as it was already past one in the morning.
TRY-OUTS PART ONE
As Lily made her announcement, a small group of girls crowded around Lily. As a joke, Sirius also came, holding a pair of pom-poms.
"You are trying out? Don't you play Quidditch?" Samira, half excited, half disgusted.
"Sure, why not? I can try out, even if I am a boy. No, a man." Sirius responded. "Anyways, I could probably cheer better than you." He said, and Samira flounced away, looking hurt.
Lily went out to the Quidditch field, the others following her. They started off by warming up and practicing some cheers. Then the try-outs began.
"Okay! As you all know, there are 2 spots to fill. Each of you will separately perform a cheer, then a dance. The rest of the squad and I will judge you. Results will be posted this weekend." Lily announced, her voice magically magnified. Jen stepped up.
"Anspach, Tabitha" a 2nd year girl went up to the outlined area and picked up her pom-poms. In a wobbly voice, she began her cheer. The squad watched as everybody auditioned: 1st years, 7th years, popular girls, bookworms, mean girls, and friendly ones. The funniest one was when Sirius got his turn.
"Black, Sirius!" Jen called amidst all the giggles. Sirius went up and began his cheer. It was so funny; him falling after every jump he attempted, and he ended the cheer by burping " LIONS!"
By the time he was finished, the girls were laughing so hard that they fell to the ground. The rest of the try-outs went smoothly; Sirius had broken the ice and the girls trying out weren't so nervous.
When the try-outs were over, Lily headed back to the kitchens for lunch. The rest of the day passed easily and without any problems.
"God! I'm beat. I never realized that the house-elves' work was so difficult. And we have to do it every month! I'm going to bed." Emily moaned, pulling the curtains around her bed.
"It wasn't t-that bad," Lily began, failing to stifle a yawn. "We only had to cook this time. We gotta clean next time." She said.
"Whatever." Emily said and waited to hear a 'shut-up' from Lily. When she heard none, she looked over and found Lily fast asleep.
Meanwhile, the boys couldn't fall asleep after eating so much ice cream at dinner. They were on a sugar high and kicked out of the boys' dorms.
" So, what should we do now?" Sirius said, bouncing up and down in his seat.
"Sirius, shut up, I'm trying to think." Remus complained.
"Oh, right okay." Sirius sunk back down into his seat. "Right. Not going to talk. Going to sit here and be very quiet. Not a word. Not a single word. Going to zippy the lippy. No speaky. Silent as a graveyard. Quiet as a mouse. When a problem comes along, you must zip it. Zip it good. I've got whole bag of "sssh" with your name on it. Remy don't. Remy." Sirius said and again he received a loud "Shut up!"
"Hey, why don't we explore the castle a bit? Go up to the seventh floor. We don't really have any classes there. Want to find out what's up there?" James asked.
Sirius looked excited, then dejected. "We tried, but the caretaker's assistant, Filch caught us.
"Well if that's all, your problem is solved. Hold on a minute." He said, sneaking back up the stairs. In exactly two minutes, and 37 seconds, according to Sirius, James came back. He was holding a flowy, silver object- thing in his hands.
"What is that?" Remus came over and asked curiously.
"This is the answer to our problems. It is an Invisibility Cloak." James said proudly. Remus looked excited, and Sirius still looked lost and confused.
"What?"
"Invisibility Cloak. Do you want me to spell it out for you? I-N-V-I- S-I-B-I-L- hey I never noticed how many "I's " there are in that word. Anyways, it'll make you invisible so no one can catch us." James explained.
" OHH." Sirius said, comprehension dawning on his face.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" James said, pulling the Invisibility Cloak over his two friends. They stepped out of the Gryffindor Common and headed up to the 7th floor. While exploring a corridor, they heard a call.
"James! Remus! Get over here! I've found something." Sirius called excitedly. The other two ran over to where Sirius was standing. He was standing in front of a potted plant.
"What? I don't see anything." Remus said, trying to push open the wall behind the plant.
"No, but if you do this." Sirius said and showed them a, well let's just say interesting, combination of steps. First he took 2 big steps, 4skips, 5 jumps back and a twirl in front of the plant. Slowly, the plant rotated and a door appeared on the once-blank wall. "You will."
"Great, but why were you doing that?" James asked, suppressing his laughter.
"Don't ask. I just remembered. On the third floor, by the statue of the old hag with a hump, I was holding my wand and I was trying to remember the password for the Gryffindor Tower. I was muttering and when I said 'Opium' it opened. All I saw was a small hallway before someone came and I had to close it. Why don't we go check it out?" Remus said.
"Great idea. First, let me put my own password for this. That was we won't have to dance next time we want to find out what's down there." James said, grinning. After they had finished sealing it off with another password, they headed down to the 3rd floor. Once there, they made sure that no one was in the hallway before taking off the cloak. They all hurried to the statue.
"OW!! Remus my foot!" Sirius yelled. Suddenly, they heard steps coming nearer.
"Quick! Come over here. There." James said, pulling the cloak over his friends.
"Whew. That was close!" Remus said, pretending to wipe sweat off his forehead. Suddenly, Argus Filch, the assistant caretaker appeared from around the corner. He shined the light in all corners, but didn't see the group of boys.
"Those maurdering fools. I wish I could have found out who it was so I could throw 'em out of the castle." Filch muttered, rounding the corner. The three boys sighed after he passed them.
"That was close. But I think that we should have sort of like a group name. I like the sound of the Lions. You know, to support Gryffindor." Remus said, thoughtfully.
"Yeah, but we sort of need a creative name. Something no one has ever used." Sirius said.
"Well, the only way is to make up a word. What about Marauders? That's a pretty unused word, so not many people will know the meaning." James suggested. The others agreed with the name.
"Well, now that we have decided on a name, I'm going to sleep. I'm beat!" Remus exclaimed, getting into bed. The others soon followed, as it was already past one in the morning.