Chapter 4 - Thoughts
Lucius had been wandering around the school aimlessly for about an hour. It was after he headed toward the Slytherin Common Room that he realized that he did no know where the Head's Common Room was.
Strolling back into the Hall, Lucius almost ran into Dumbledore, who was currently standing in front of the main entrance.
He smiled at the cold, gray eyes. "Mr. Malfoy. I am delighted that you found your way back here. I knew that you don't know where your room is, or what the password is, so I was waiting for you."
"Thank you, Headmaster. I had forgotten about that when I stormed out. I should have realized that I didn't know where to go after that."
Dumbledore waved his hand at Lucius. "But enough idle chatter: you, no doubt, want to get to your room for al ittle rest before classes start." He held the door for Lucius as he guided him around the school. Somehow, they ended up near the entance to the Slytherin Common Room. Dumbledore stopped in front of a painting of a mermaid, sunbathing on a rock.
"The password is 'dinglehopper'. I'll leave you to get situated." With a slight wave, Dumbledore disappeared down the hall.
When lucius turned back to the painting, it had already swung open from when Dumbledore said the password. He jumped as a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Look, Mrs. Norris. Students out of the beds. Let's take this one in and punish him for breaking the rules." A creepy man stood behind Lucius, with a tiny kitten prowling around his feet.
Lucius shook off the hand. "Who are you? You can't punish me, I'm the Head Boy, I'm supposed to be out of my bed and patrolling the halls; it's my duty."
The creepy man sneered. "I do'nt care if you're the Minister of Magic. You're a student outside of your Common Room after the curfew. It's my job to patrol the halls, not yours, it's in my job description."
"I don't think you head me the first time. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Lucius asked.
Performing a mock-bow, the man replied, "Argus Filch and Mrs. Norris at your service. I'm the Hogwart's caretaker and you are breaking curfew!"
"Excuse me, Mr. Filch?" They both turned around to see Lily standingin the entranceway.
His entire demeanor suddenly brightened at the sight of the red-headed beauty. "Yes, Miss Evans, how may I help you?"
She bit her lip. "I'm sorry to rain on your parade, but Mister Malfoy is my male counterpart. He has the same priveleges, so he wouldn't actually be in trouble if he had been found by any of the other teachers." Lily smiled gently at him. "Trust me, I guarantee by the end of the week you will have caught plenty of rulebreakers."
Filch looked back and forth between Lily an dLucius before giving in. "I supposed... if you say so. But you never know with kids these days. They all could be walking around playing 'Head Boy'... I can't go around believing all that I hear," he grumbled as he walked down the hall.
Lucius shook his head. "I can't believe he didn't know that I was Head Boy. Who was that, anyway?"
"He's the replacement for Apollyon Pringle. Supposedly he got sick of all the Dung Bombs being thrown at him, so he retired," she replied, laughing.
"Well, why wasn't I informed?" snapped Lucius.
Lily narrowed her eyes. "Don't take your temper out on me. It's not my fault that you stomped out of the HAll before you could meet him. He's actually quite nice... if you're on his good side."
Lucius swallowed slowly. "I'm... sorry, Lily. It's just I'm a little annoyed with my house already. I just want to get this year over and done with."
"Stop, Lucius. You're going to start rambling. Don't you want to see our Common Room?" Lily side-stepped and motioned to the open portrait hole.
HE looked at her gently. "Yes, I would." Lucius did not move until Lily got the hind that he wanted her to go first.
A fire crackled merrily in the exquisite fireplace. Several large chandeliers lit the rest of the room with a soft light that reached every corner. The Common Room had large, overstuffed charis placed near tables all around the room. All the wood was a rich mahogany and the color of the furniture, a deep maroon, went well with the other colors of the room.
Lucius scowled at the Gryffindor colors but his mood lightened when he saw the design of the fireplace and the pattern of the maroon rug on the floor.
In the room, there were two doors. One had the Gryffindor lion engraved on the front, while a door exactly opposite had the Slytherin snake. Near the doors there were two staircases that wound behind the walls and up to a balcony.
"Our rooms are hidden by the walls of the staircases," Lily spoke suddenly.
He looked down at the firy girl in front of him. "Is there a bathroom?" he asked.
A playful smile danced around her lips. "Yes, the bathroom is right in the middle of the balcony. However, there seems to be only one, so I guess that we'll have to share."
They both jumped slightly as the portrait swung shut behind them. Lily laughed.
Such a beautiful sound, thought Lucius. "So we have to share a bathroom, huh?" He raised an eyebrow.
Her eyes twinkled merrily, "No peeking!" His deep, but quiet chuckle reached her ears.
Oh, I won't need to, dearest Lily. His eyes seemed to turn dark and Lily stopped smiling, but Lucius did not notice.
"Well," she said, "I'm rather tired and you found your way here safely, so I can go to bed now." Walking away from him, Lily disappeared up the staris next to the lion-emblazoned door.
A smile appeared on his lips as he moved towards his own staircase. "Good night, my sweet Lily."
James had stormed off and to the Gryffindor Common Room. He had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and only when she asked for the password did he recall that Remus had not told him what it was.
He held his head within his hands as he sat down in front of the portrait, waiting for REmus and the First Years. "I can't believe she would do that to me! To the Gryffindors! How long has she been with him?" He paused tot hink. "I know she was excited to go to Italy this summer... doesn't Malfoy have a Manor in Italy somewhere? Yeah... yeah, I think I heard him say something about a quick five-minute broomflight to Venice. What does she see in him? Can't she tell that I have changed? I don't even torture Snape as much as we did last year before that incident. How could she not see that. We didn't even prank anybody during the welcoming feast, but does she notice?" James found himself growing angry. "No! Of course not! She's too busy with her fucking boyfriend."
He had been too distracted by his anger to notice the approaching group of First Years led by the Prefects and followed by the rest of the Gryffindor House.
Sirius pushed his way to the front and pounded his friend on the back. "I knew sooner or later you'd show us that you were crazy. Did you have a nice conversation with yourself, Prongsie?"
Although attempting to maintain the fierce scowl on his face, it melted away into a wide smile, followed by a deep chuckle. "Yes, Padfoot," James replied, "I was enjoying the chat with myself. So I would appreciate it if you would not interrupt me again."
Sirius shook his head and ruffled the hair of his friend, who was still sitting on the floor. "Moony, I do believe that our dear friend here has officially gone insane!" he exclaimed, wildly waving his arms, barely missing a First Year's head.
"Hey, watch it!" a student yelled. "You almost smacked my brother in the face!"
Sirius squealed with delight as he threw his arm around the First Year. "Another Weasley?" He looked down at the small redhead. "Are you going to be one of our prankster trainees?"
Charlie looked over to his older brother who had a stupid-looking grin plastered on his face. "Yeah! I'd love to! I've been hearing stories about you guys for the past two years!"
"Well, my short, little man," said Sirius holding out his other hand. "Welcome to the Junior Marauder training program!"
James grinned at the happy First Year and pulled himself off the floor. "Hmmm... we need to put him through an induction ceremony to see if he deserves the title of 'Junior Marauder'." He looked down at Charlie, putting a stern look on his face. "Being a Junior Marauder is no easy task, my little First Year. It has taken some people years to get passed the induction." He winked at Remus.
Charlie puffed out his chest importantly. "I can do it!"
"Pranking lions," Remus told the Fat Lady and she swung her portrait forward. "Sorry, I hate to interrupt this joyous occasion, but the hordes are getting restless."
Sirius threw his other arm around James and dragged both of them through the portrait hole. "Let's go figure out what he has to do, Prongsie."
"Yeah, let's think of a good challenge for this Weasley," James replied. Perhaps this is what I need... a distraction.