Chapter 16: So it Begins
"Man, I love the weekend," Sirius drawled lazily as he sprawled himself out on the couch, leaving no room for anyone else. "But I must say, Saturdays are the best. You get to wake up when you want...and go to sleep when you want, you can do whatever you want the whole day..." He paused and yawned. " And you always have the next day, Sunday, to do all your homework," he concluded.
"Here, here," Peter called from his spot the floor. Somehow he always got stuck on the floor.
Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius from his seat in an armchair nearby and then looked at James, who looked around the common room to see if they were alone. The last of the Gryffindors were drifting up the stairs right then and James waited for them to disappear into their rooms before he said anything.
"Okay, guys, you know why we're here," he started quietly. "Has anyone found out anything? Overheard anything?...Anything?" he asked, looking around at Sirius, Remus and Peter. They all shook their heads. James frowned.
"Neither have I," he said, pausing. "What we need to do is formulate a plan. We need to go to the source. My dad said that Radolfus Lestrange might be recruiting other students, so we need to tap in on him . Find out who all his friends are, though we pretty much know that. Find out what he's been doing with Snape lately. Find out his habits, what he does at night. Find out what he eats for dinner everyday. Find out every bloody thing about that guy."
"How are we supposed to do all that?" Peter asked, looking very doubtful as he peered up at James.
"Well we aren't the Marauders for nothing, are we, Peter?" Sirius said grinning. He swung his legs down from the couch and onto the floor, suddenly looking very serious.
"So. A plan. I like plans."
"Well, right now I think our plan will have to be that we will be acutely aware of everything any Slytherin ever says-" James began.
"Not just Slytherins, though. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs too. And...even Gryffindors," Remus said, interrupting James.
"Moony's right," James said warily, "Even Gryffindors. We'll have to be aware of everyone. Teachers even."
"Hey. Tomorrow's Sunday... why don't we do a bit of tracking? We can follow Malfoy around for a while. Malfoy and Snape. James or someone can use the invisibility cloak. Peter can turn into a rat. That way we'll have both covered," Sirius said suddenly.
"You're a genius, mate," Remus said, nodding.
"I know."
"But I'll get tired. It's hard to keep up with people when your legs are as short as a rat's," Peter began to whine.
"Oh, shut up. You promised you would do this. We all did," Sirius said. Suddenly, his eyes widened and a big grin spread out on his face.
"Sayyy, I'm sure I could talk a little information out of this nice Slytherin girl I know. I'm sure she'd be willing to help us, unknowingly of course..." he said with a faraway look in his eyes.
"A Slytherin?! Padfoot, I don't know about that," Remus started apprehensively.
"Oh trust me, Moony. The girl's absolutely harmless. A bit dim, actually. Met her quite by accident last year. The girl somehow locked herself in a broom closet." He shook his head. "It was a very nice broom closet though. I became quite fond of it."
"Oh, you !" James reached over and pushed Sirius shoulder so he fell onto the couch, laughing.
"But yeah, I could get some information out of her," he said when he had gotten back up.
"Good," James replied. "Just be careful."
"So tomorrow, James, you're going to follow Lestrange?" asked Remus.
James nodded and said, "After breakfast I think will be the best time. I'll see where he goes off to. If nothing seems to be important then I'll leave him after a couple hours."
"And Peter will follow Snape?" continued Remus, shifting his position on his chair.
James nodded in response. "Peter, Snape's a shady character. Think you can handle him?"
"I most certainly can!" Peter cried out indignantly. "You guys always think that I can't do things!"
"Okay, okay, Wormtail! Just checking... So, then you'll do the same thing after breakfast, but in your rat form," James directed. "And Sirius...you will be with...?"
"Nicola. Yes." He grinned. "I'll try at least."
"So what do I do?" Remus asked, frowning. "There's only one cloak and it won't fit me and James, especially if we want to be quiet. I can't turn into an animagus and I don't know any girls..."
"You can cover for us," Sirius said. "There always has to be someone who does that."
Remus looked disappointed. The corner of his mouth twisted downward, and it was clear that he wanted to actually be a part of the action.
"Fine. But next time around, someone else covers... Where should I say you guys are if anyone asks?"
"Ummm... How about...studying in the dorm?" Peter offered.
"What?! Are you trying to ruin our reputations, Wormtail?" Sirius admonished, looking offended.
"Well do you have a better idea?" Remus shot back at him.
"Uhh...Quidditch?"
"No. Anyone could disprove that."
"Hmm. What other cool stuff would we be doing?"
"Nothing that we'd be able to tell people!"
"Well, I don't see you coming up with any ideas!"
"GUYS! Quiet!" James exclaimed, then leaned his head back against the back of his chair, and stretched out his legs. He was looking at the ceiling thoughtfully, rubbing his neck with his left hand and biting his top lip. Remus and Sirius looked guiltily at each other and then glanced at the stairways leading up to the boys' and girls' dormitories. James being serious was not necessarily a rare thing to them, but when he was then it meant that the matter was certainly very important. Remus thought it was interesting how in public James always presented himself as someone more like Sirius (though Sirius could be serious too), when in truth Remus knew he was not entirely like that. Though he certainly was. He had come to realize that James was quite an intriguing character.
"Remus, if anyone asks just tell them that it's none of their business what we're doing. People know us well enough, they probably won't think twice about it," James said finally, glancing at Sirius quickly before the corners of his mouth began to turn upwards. "Padfoot's always off with girls anyway."
"Hey! No fair! I'm not the only one!"
James suppressed a grin and looked around as if there were people around them.
Remus smiled and shook his head, looking relieved. "Alright. That sounds good, James."
"James, you know as well as I do that you're off with girls as much as I am!" Sirius continued brashly, trying to look stern but grinning at the same time.
"No way, Padfoot!"
Sirius's mouth dropped open theatrically in mock shock. He stood up and put his hands on his hips. "Hmmph!" he snorted and flipped his dark hair upwards.
"At least I have standards." James said, getting up in front of Sirius's face in the same pose. Their long shapely noses were inches apart and James's flecked, hazel eyes stared straight into Sirius's sparkly, blue ones. Sirius had his eyebrow arched up and James mirrored the look.
"Oh you did not just say that, honey! Let me tell you about standards...." Sirius began, waving his hand in the air, but James let out a snort and collapsed onto the floor in hysterics. Sirius dropped to the floor a second later.
Remus had to admit, he loved having these two as friends. It was like watching some crazy Muggle soap opera gone bad (he had heard about soap operas from Muggle-borns), and it was the most amusing thing in the world. He couldn't help but laugh along with them as he watched them interact with each other. They would never realize how much he valued their friendship. Way to get sappy in a moment like this, Remus, he told himself, inwardly shaking his head.
After a few minutes, all four boys had stopped laughing and realized how exhausted they were. Sirius tried to stifle a huge yawn, but found it was impossible and he stood up and mumbled something about going to bed.
"So. We know what we're supposed to do?" confirmed James, looking at each of their nodding heads.
"Alright, we'll have another meeting tomorrow. Let's go to bed."
They stumbled towards their dormitory with their heads hanging down to the ground out of tiredness and did not look where they were going, which was quite unfortunate because they entirely missed Lily Evans scrambling up the stairs and slipping into her room noiselessly before they could catch or hear her.
"Man, I love the weekend," Sirius drawled lazily as he sprawled himself out on the couch, leaving no room for anyone else. "But I must say, Saturdays are the best. You get to wake up when you want...and go to sleep when you want, you can do whatever you want the whole day..." He paused and yawned. " And you always have the next day, Sunday, to do all your homework," he concluded.
"Here, here," Peter called from his spot the floor. Somehow he always got stuck on the floor.
Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius from his seat in an armchair nearby and then looked at James, who looked around the common room to see if they were alone. The last of the Gryffindors were drifting up the stairs right then and James waited for them to disappear into their rooms before he said anything.
"Okay, guys, you know why we're here," he started quietly. "Has anyone found out anything? Overheard anything?...Anything?" he asked, looking around at Sirius, Remus and Peter. They all shook their heads. James frowned.
"Neither have I," he said, pausing. "What we need to do is formulate a plan. We need to go to the source. My dad said that Radolfus Lestrange might be recruiting other students, so we need to tap in on him . Find out who all his friends are, though we pretty much know that. Find out what he's been doing with Snape lately. Find out his habits, what he does at night. Find out what he eats for dinner everyday. Find out every bloody thing about that guy."
"How are we supposed to do all that?" Peter asked, looking very doubtful as he peered up at James.
"Well we aren't the Marauders for nothing, are we, Peter?" Sirius said grinning. He swung his legs down from the couch and onto the floor, suddenly looking very serious.
"So. A plan. I like plans."
"Well, right now I think our plan will have to be that we will be acutely aware of everything any Slytherin ever says-" James began.
"Not just Slytherins, though. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs too. And...even Gryffindors," Remus said, interrupting James.
"Moony's right," James said warily, "Even Gryffindors. We'll have to be aware of everyone. Teachers even."
"Hey. Tomorrow's Sunday... why don't we do a bit of tracking? We can follow Malfoy around for a while. Malfoy and Snape. James or someone can use the invisibility cloak. Peter can turn into a rat. That way we'll have both covered," Sirius said suddenly.
"You're a genius, mate," Remus said, nodding.
"I know."
"But I'll get tired. It's hard to keep up with people when your legs are as short as a rat's," Peter began to whine.
"Oh, shut up. You promised you would do this. We all did," Sirius said. Suddenly, his eyes widened and a big grin spread out on his face.
"Sayyy, I'm sure I could talk a little information out of this nice Slytherin girl I know. I'm sure she'd be willing to help us, unknowingly of course..." he said with a faraway look in his eyes.
"A Slytherin?! Padfoot, I don't know about that," Remus started apprehensively.
"Oh trust me, Moony. The girl's absolutely harmless. A bit dim, actually. Met her quite by accident last year. The girl somehow locked herself in a broom closet." He shook his head. "It was a very nice broom closet though. I became quite fond of it."
"Oh, you !" James reached over and pushed Sirius shoulder so he fell onto the couch, laughing.
"But yeah, I could get some information out of her," he said when he had gotten back up.
"Good," James replied. "Just be careful."
"So tomorrow, James, you're going to follow Lestrange?" asked Remus.
James nodded and said, "After breakfast I think will be the best time. I'll see where he goes off to. If nothing seems to be important then I'll leave him after a couple hours."
"And Peter will follow Snape?" continued Remus, shifting his position on his chair.
James nodded in response. "Peter, Snape's a shady character. Think you can handle him?"
"I most certainly can!" Peter cried out indignantly. "You guys always think that I can't do things!"
"Okay, okay, Wormtail! Just checking... So, then you'll do the same thing after breakfast, but in your rat form," James directed. "And Sirius...you will be with...?"
"Nicola. Yes." He grinned. "I'll try at least."
"So what do I do?" Remus asked, frowning. "There's only one cloak and it won't fit me and James, especially if we want to be quiet. I can't turn into an animagus and I don't know any girls..."
"You can cover for us," Sirius said. "There always has to be someone who does that."
Remus looked disappointed. The corner of his mouth twisted downward, and it was clear that he wanted to actually be a part of the action.
"Fine. But next time around, someone else covers... Where should I say you guys are if anyone asks?"
"Ummm... How about...studying in the dorm?" Peter offered.
"What?! Are you trying to ruin our reputations, Wormtail?" Sirius admonished, looking offended.
"Well do you have a better idea?" Remus shot back at him.
"Uhh...Quidditch?"
"No. Anyone could disprove that."
"Hmm. What other cool stuff would we be doing?"
"Nothing that we'd be able to tell people!"
"Well, I don't see you coming up with any ideas!"
"GUYS! Quiet!" James exclaimed, then leaned his head back against the back of his chair, and stretched out his legs. He was looking at the ceiling thoughtfully, rubbing his neck with his left hand and biting his top lip. Remus and Sirius looked guiltily at each other and then glanced at the stairways leading up to the boys' and girls' dormitories. James being serious was not necessarily a rare thing to them, but when he was then it meant that the matter was certainly very important. Remus thought it was interesting how in public James always presented himself as someone more like Sirius (though Sirius could be serious too), when in truth Remus knew he was not entirely like that. Though he certainly was. He had come to realize that James was quite an intriguing character.
"Remus, if anyone asks just tell them that it's none of their business what we're doing. People know us well enough, they probably won't think twice about it," James said finally, glancing at Sirius quickly before the corners of his mouth began to turn upwards. "Padfoot's always off with girls anyway."
"Hey! No fair! I'm not the only one!"
James suppressed a grin and looked around as if there were people around them.
Remus smiled and shook his head, looking relieved. "Alright. That sounds good, James."
"James, you know as well as I do that you're off with girls as much as I am!" Sirius continued brashly, trying to look stern but grinning at the same time.
"No way, Padfoot!"
Sirius's mouth dropped open theatrically in mock shock. He stood up and put his hands on his hips. "Hmmph!" he snorted and flipped his dark hair upwards.
"At least I have standards." James said, getting up in front of Sirius's face in the same pose. Their long shapely noses were inches apart and James's flecked, hazel eyes stared straight into Sirius's sparkly, blue ones. Sirius had his eyebrow arched up and James mirrored the look.
"Oh you did not just say that, honey! Let me tell you about standards...." Sirius began, waving his hand in the air, but James let out a snort and collapsed onto the floor in hysterics. Sirius dropped to the floor a second later.
Remus had to admit, he loved having these two as friends. It was like watching some crazy Muggle soap opera gone bad (he had heard about soap operas from Muggle-borns), and it was the most amusing thing in the world. He couldn't help but laugh along with them as he watched them interact with each other. They would never realize how much he valued their friendship. Way to get sappy in a moment like this, Remus, he told himself, inwardly shaking his head.
After a few minutes, all four boys had stopped laughing and realized how exhausted they were. Sirius tried to stifle a huge yawn, but found it was impossible and he stood up and mumbled something about going to bed.
"So. We know what we're supposed to do?" confirmed James, looking at each of their nodding heads.
"Alright, we'll have another meeting tomorrow. Let's go to bed."
They stumbled towards their dormitory with their heads hanging down to the ground out of tiredness and did not look where they were going, which was quite unfortunate because they entirely missed Lily Evans scrambling up the stairs and slipping into her room noiselessly before they could catch or hear her.