Chapter 11: Spies
They watched the edges of the paper blacken, the fire gobbling it up hungrily as it sizzled on the glowing embers. The black ink melted as the paper disintegrated bit by bit, finally disappearing in a puff of gray ash. The happy orange flames danced merrily before them, reflecting bright lights and shapes in the eyes of the four boys.
"It's bloody brilliant..." Sirius whispered softly, staring entranced at the fire.
"Why?" James began slowly, taking in what Sirius had just said. "Why would you want to spend 7th year spying on people? Shouldn't we...be having fun?" He squinted at the remainder of his father's letter, thinking. The air was still, stifling, the heat from the fire had scared off the chill. The room was still devoid of any life but them.
"No. Well, yes. But don't you see?" Sirius replied, looking uncharacteristically somber. "This gives us motive . Motive for the pranks we do every year. We always wanted to get inside that Slytherin Common room, now we need to. Come on, James. This is brilliant." A small smile began to form on his shapely lips. James could see the ideas already forming in his friend's head. The Slytherin common room . Good God. This was the opportunity of a lifetime.
"Yeah," James breathed, "Yeah, you're right. I just wasn't sure before. But when I saw Snape and Malfoy... I have to write him back right away. If you guys really want to." He looked at his three friends beside him, crouching around the cackling fire. Remus stared at him with confidence, his tawny eyes unwavering, his posture looking odd and painful. He nodded to James. Sirius grinned impishly, his eyes were unfocused and unreadable. Peter's eyes kept flitting from each of their faces, but he managed out a shaky nod. James was overwhelmed with such a peculiar feeling as he stared at his brothers sitting on the cold hearth. I would die for these guys, he thought to himself; he was not surprised. He ducked his head and scolded himself for the warm, wet feeling he was experiencing in his eyes.
"Yeah," he croaked, "So, I'll write him back. Tell him we'll do it." He looked down at the floor. He had never noticed how detailed the carpet was before.
"We should have formal meetings on a regular basis, to plan raids, pranks, whatever. That way we'll be prepared. We can meet a week before each full moon, that way I'll always be able to remind us. And whenever you want to in between," Remus said briskly. Sirius nodded. "We should have one now, but I feel like hell. And I have to go soon." He paused. "What are we doing tonight, by the way?"
"I think we should just romp around. We hardly ever do that anymore. I'm feeling kind of hyper," Sirius replied, his eyes glinting mischeviously. James couldn't help but grin. This was going to be incredible. Spies . They were spies now. Working for the Aurors. It seemed insane.
"This is a secret we are taking to the grave. We can't tell anyone. We'll die before we tell anyone," James said grimly and somewhat commandingly. Peter let out a small whimper. James gave him a dark look. "It's not a freaking game. This is real."
Suddenly, the portrait hole swung open and laughter floated into the room. The dark shadows crept back into their corners, the eery wind slipped back into the floorboards, and the fire burst up to twice its size. Slowly, people began to filter in, filling up the vacant space, and cluttering up the empty tables. Remus stood up slowly. "Gotta go, see you guys tonight..." Sirius gave him a nod. James watched his retreating back, wishing that he could bear the pain of his best friend even just once.
"Oy, James. Where's Remus off to?" Frank Longbottom called to him. Close behind Frank, he saw Lily's friend Alice with a slight blush on her cheeks. Wilona was also nearby, staring wide-eyed at Sirius. James rolled his eyes. "Dumbledore wanted to see him," he answered Frank coolly, accustomed to the routine. He let the events of the past half hour drift away from his mind as he gave Sirius a small nudge and nodded towards Wilona. "She's not that bad, you know." Sirius gave him a shove. They both stood up, Peter clambered to his feet. James sauntered over to Frank, shooting a couple unnoticed, furtive glances to the windows on the opposite wall. Satisfied, he sat down on a couch across from where Frank has situated himself with Alice next to him. She looked a little embarrassed and afraid; she kept glancing at the staircase to the girls' dormitories. She was probably worried about Lily. Evans is lucky to have such a nice and caring friend, James thought to himself. He wondered if her relationship with Alice and Wilona was anything like his relationship with Sirius and Remus. He doubted it.
"So, James. Everything all right?" inquired Frank sincerely. James shook his head and brushed him off, "Oh, yeah, it was nothing. Don't worry."
Sirius began to cough slightly next to him, muffling it with his hand. Frank began to grin.
"Is there anything you want to tell us, James? Anything?..." He leaned closer, his eyebrow raised, a cocky, knowing grin on his face. James could feel himself turning red. He gripped the arm of the couch with his hand and willed his skin to stay the pale color that it was.
"Uhh....No..." he mumbled, keeping his eyes on the wonderfully detailed carpet that he had discovered earlier before. Alice squinted at him thoughtfully, sizing him up. James was blushing. That was new, she thought. His eyes were focused on the floor and his head was down instead of up high and staring everyone straight in the face. Odd, Alice thought. She looked to Wilona's take on the situation, but she was staring fixatedly on Sirius. She rolled her eyes. The girl was hopeless.
Sirius clapped James on the back. "You sure about that, buddy? 'Cuz before you really seemed like you were trying to tell us something important." James looked up at Sirius and shot him a look of precaution, but Sirius gave him a quick flick of the eyes and continued on; the unspoken millisecond between them went unnoticed to everyone. Everyone but Alice, who had been concentrating on James. She brushed off her curiosity and sneaked a sideways glance at Frank next to her. He was grinning evily, focused on the squirming, uncomfortable-looking James. He was quite handsome, she thought, blushing. But after a second, her smile dropped and she began to frown. Lily didn't know...that she fancied Frank. Frank was nice enough, he was sweet, intelligent, good-looking, athletic...but he was friends with them . Her frown deepend. Lily could be so difficult sometimes. If only she could see James now, squirming like a flobberworm. She shook her head.
"What's the matter?" Frank whispered sofly into her ear; she could barely hear him over Sirius's loud voice in the background, still tormenting James in front a bunch of sixth and seventh years who decided to join in on the fun.
"Nothing..." She lied, keeping her eyes on the floor. Wow. No wonder James keeps staring at the rug. It is really interesting, she thought.
"I think I'll go to bed now. It's getting late. I want to talk to Lily," she whispered back. His dark eyes stared into her, overwhelming her, but he simply said, "Alright, I'll see you tomorow." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek that stung sweetly for a few seconds.
Sirius had noticed the little exchange and hooted loudly, finally leaving James alone. "I'm telling Lillllly!" He called after Alice as she made her way to her dormitory. Wilona looked hopefully from Sirius to Alice, indicating that she wanted to stay. Alice shrugged. At least Lily has me to count on, she thought sadly. She went upstairs, the boisterous voice of Sirius fading into the a murmer with the rest of the chatter in the common room, finally disappearing as she shut the door of the girl's dorm softly behind her.
They watched the edges of the paper blacken, the fire gobbling it up hungrily as it sizzled on the glowing embers. The black ink melted as the paper disintegrated bit by bit, finally disappearing in a puff of gray ash. The happy orange flames danced merrily before them, reflecting bright lights and shapes in the eyes of the four boys.
"It's bloody brilliant..." Sirius whispered softly, staring entranced at the fire.
"Why?" James began slowly, taking in what Sirius had just said. "Why would you want to spend 7th year spying on people? Shouldn't we...be having fun?" He squinted at the remainder of his father's letter, thinking. The air was still, stifling, the heat from the fire had scared off the chill. The room was still devoid of any life but them.
"No. Well, yes. But don't you see?" Sirius replied, looking uncharacteristically somber. "This gives us motive . Motive for the pranks we do every year. We always wanted to get inside that Slytherin Common room, now we need to. Come on, James. This is brilliant." A small smile began to form on his shapely lips. James could see the ideas already forming in his friend's head. The Slytherin common room . Good God. This was the opportunity of a lifetime.
"Yeah," James breathed, "Yeah, you're right. I just wasn't sure before. But when I saw Snape and Malfoy... I have to write him back right away. If you guys really want to." He looked at his three friends beside him, crouching around the cackling fire. Remus stared at him with confidence, his tawny eyes unwavering, his posture looking odd and painful. He nodded to James. Sirius grinned impishly, his eyes were unfocused and unreadable. Peter's eyes kept flitting from each of their faces, but he managed out a shaky nod. James was overwhelmed with such a peculiar feeling as he stared at his brothers sitting on the cold hearth. I would die for these guys, he thought to himself; he was not surprised. He ducked his head and scolded himself for the warm, wet feeling he was experiencing in his eyes.
"Yeah," he croaked, "So, I'll write him back. Tell him we'll do it." He looked down at the floor. He had never noticed how detailed the carpet was before.
"We should have formal meetings on a regular basis, to plan raids, pranks, whatever. That way we'll be prepared. We can meet a week before each full moon, that way I'll always be able to remind us. And whenever you want to in between," Remus said briskly. Sirius nodded. "We should have one now, but I feel like hell. And I have to go soon." He paused. "What are we doing tonight, by the way?"
"I think we should just romp around. We hardly ever do that anymore. I'm feeling kind of hyper," Sirius replied, his eyes glinting mischeviously. James couldn't help but grin. This was going to be incredible. Spies . They were spies now. Working for the Aurors. It seemed insane.
"This is a secret we are taking to the grave. We can't tell anyone. We'll die before we tell anyone," James said grimly and somewhat commandingly. Peter let out a small whimper. James gave him a dark look. "It's not a freaking game. This is real."
Suddenly, the portrait hole swung open and laughter floated into the room. The dark shadows crept back into their corners, the eery wind slipped back into the floorboards, and the fire burst up to twice its size. Slowly, people began to filter in, filling up the vacant space, and cluttering up the empty tables. Remus stood up slowly. "Gotta go, see you guys tonight..." Sirius gave him a nod. James watched his retreating back, wishing that he could bear the pain of his best friend even just once.
"Oy, James. Where's Remus off to?" Frank Longbottom called to him. Close behind Frank, he saw Lily's friend Alice with a slight blush on her cheeks. Wilona was also nearby, staring wide-eyed at Sirius. James rolled his eyes. "Dumbledore wanted to see him," he answered Frank coolly, accustomed to the routine. He let the events of the past half hour drift away from his mind as he gave Sirius a small nudge and nodded towards Wilona. "She's not that bad, you know." Sirius gave him a shove. They both stood up, Peter clambered to his feet. James sauntered over to Frank, shooting a couple unnoticed, furtive glances to the windows on the opposite wall. Satisfied, he sat down on a couch across from where Frank has situated himself with Alice next to him. She looked a little embarrassed and afraid; she kept glancing at the staircase to the girls' dormitories. She was probably worried about Lily. Evans is lucky to have such a nice and caring friend, James thought to himself. He wondered if her relationship with Alice and Wilona was anything like his relationship with Sirius and Remus. He doubted it.
"So, James. Everything all right?" inquired Frank sincerely. James shook his head and brushed him off, "Oh, yeah, it was nothing. Don't worry."
Sirius began to cough slightly next to him, muffling it with his hand. Frank began to grin.
"Is there anything you want to tell us, James? Anything?..." He leaned closer, his eyebrow raised, a cocky, knowing grin on his face. James could feel himself turning red. He gripped the arm of the couch with his hand and willed his skin to stay the pale color that it was.
"Uhh....No..." he mumbled, keeping his eyes on the wonderfully detailed carpet that he had discovered earlier before. Alice squinted at him thoughtfully, sizing him up. James was blushing. That was new, she thought. His eyes were focused on the floor and his head was down instead of up high and staring everyone straight in the face. Odd, Alice thought. She looked to Wilona's take on the situation, but she was staring fixatedly on Sirius. She rolled her eyes. The girl was hopeless.
Sirius clapped James on the back. "You sure about that, buddy? 'Cuz before you really seemed like you were trying to tell us something important." James looked up at Sirius and shot him a look of precaution, but Sirius gave him a quick flick of the eyes and continued on; the unspoken millisecond between them went unnoticed to everyone. Everyone but Alice, who had been concentrating on James. She brushed off her curiosity and sneaked a sideways glance at Frank next to her. He was grinning evily, focused on the squirming, uncomfortable-looking James. He was quite handsome, she thought, blushing. But after a second, her smile dropped and she began to frown. Lily didn't know...that she fancied Frank. Frank was nice enough, he was sweet, intelligent, good-looking, athletic...but he was friends with them . Her frown deepend. Lily could be so difficult sometimes. If only she could see James now, squirming like a flobberworm. She shook her head.
"What's the matter?" Frank whispered sofly into her ear; she could barely hear him over Sirius's loud voice in the background, still tormenting James in front a bunch of sixth and seventh years who decided to join in on the fun.
"Nothing..." She lied, keeping her eyes on the floor. Wow. No wonder James keeps staring at the rug. It is really interesting, she thought.
"I think I'll go to bed now. It's getting late. I want to talk to Lily," she whispered back. His dark eyes stared into her, overwhelming her, but he simply said, "Alright, I'll see you tomorow." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek that stung sweetly for a few seconds.
Sirius had noticed the little exchange and hooted loudly, finally leaving James alone. "I'm telling Lillllly!" He called after Alice as she made her way to her dormitory. Wilona looked hopefully from Sirius to Alice, indicating that she wanted to stay. Alice shrugged. At least Lily has me to count on, she thought sadly. She went upstairs, the boisterous voice of Sirius fading into the a murmer with the rest of the chatter in the common room, finally disappearing as she shut the door of the girl's dorm softly behind her.