Ch 17
Nibbling on her toast, Lily Evans squinted into the steam that was floating up out of the hot cup of tea in front of her. What had they bloody been talking about? She had pondered it for a bit last night before sleep overcame her, but this morning the question kept running through her head mercilessly. She knew she shouldn't really care, that it'd be a whole lot easier just to forget the whole incident altogether, but she just couldn't. Curiousity killed the cat, Lily, she kept trying to tell herself. She was pretty sure she had fallen asleep mumbling the phrase; hopefully no one had heard her.
She took a sip of her tea and felt the hot liquid flow comfortably through her body as she sighed in content. Well. She couldn't help it if she was One Curious Feline. It was hard not to be. At first, she thought she had just stumbled in on a private, late-night, Marauder party, with what Sirius and James laughing hysterically on the floor and all. But then James had said something about a meeting tomorow before they came trudging towards her. Tomorrow, Lily thought, so that would make it today.
Lily smiled cunningly, her tea cup in front of her lips as she prepared to take another sip. Wisps of red hair fell down across her face and her green eyes squinted ever so slightly, refracting light from the large windows of the Great Hall in their brilliant irises. Meow, she thought. I think I'll be staying up late tonight.
-
Wormtail scuttled across the floor after Severus Snape as fast as his little rat legs could carry him. He cursed in his rat mind as Snape turned and headed down another staircase. Bloody staircases, he thought as he stumbled and silently fell down yet another flight. Bloody staircases, bloody Snivellus, bloody having to be a rat, he thought when his soft nose hit the cold stone floor again.
He paused to straighten out his whiskers and then ran after his followee.
After a moment of scampering down a dark, musty hallway, Snape stopped and muttered something in front of a large, stone statue of... well, Wormtail couldn't really tell what it was from his position on the ground. The statue's arm moved and seemed to give a cold wave of acknowledgement as it slid to the side and revealed a large opening that Snape disappeared into. He didn't notice the rat that squeezed in after him right before the statue slid over the opening.
Wormtail's rat-nails made a slight clicking sound that was only audible to him as he hesitantly moved against the wall and surveyed his surroundings. From his position down low, he spied Severus Snape walk past a black, leather chair and then a dark, green couch before ascending a staircase. Several students, some familiar to him, were seated on the couches and chairs that met Wormtail's gaze, and his beady eyes widened as much as they could- he was a rat, after all.
Blimey! he thought as the conclusion hit him. It was the Slytherin Common Room! The place that they'd never been able to locate in all their vain efforts. Sirius and James had always come up with elaborate schemes that had always been busted in one way or another, either by teachers or Slytherin students. They had come to the conclusion that the Slytherins lived so far down in a dirty dungeon that anyone clean and humane wouldn't be able to find it. Never had they thought to ask little Wormtail to try his hand at it! He puffed out his coarse, hairy rat-chest and attempted to grin. He felt very silly sitting there on his haunches, bearing his small, sharp teeth at no one in particular. Luckily none of the Slytherin students noticed him. Filthy scum, he thought, they were probably used to seeing rats around, practically being rats themselves.
Wormtail trotted up to a couch where a laughing Radolfus Lestrange was lazily perched. His white-blonde hair fell about his face and his icy gray eyes glittered madly. Hmm, wasn't James supposed to follow him? Wormtail thought. Perhaps James was in the Common Room too. He glanced around and then looked back up at Lestrange, who was sitting next to a giggling, blonde, pale girl with a slightly upturned nose.
"But, Radolfus, you promised!" the girl whined before she erupted into another fit of giggles. She moved closer to him and they proceeded to snog on the couch right before him. Wormtail turned away and tried to keep down his breakfast. I have to get out of here, this is disgusting, he thought. He scurried back towards where he had entered the room and realized with a sickening thud in his stomach that he wouldn't be able to get out. He didn't even know how. He sat and stared at the entrance, waiting for someone to come in or go out. And he waited. And waited.
-
"My God! I was waiting for-BLOODY-ever!" sputtered Peter, as he recounted the day's events to his friends. "I thought I was going to die of old age and then rot on the bloody floor! Not that I would've cared about rotting on their floor," he added. "But what's worse, I had to listen to that vile git and his little whore snog- no, SLOBBER- on the couch right behind me!" He threw up his hands and looked at his friends sitting in the dormitory.
Sirius, who had been lounging on the end of his bed, turned a sickly shade of green and gritted his teeth with a sour expression on his face."Uhh. Thanks, Wormtail..." he said as he glanced at James, who looked like the scent of rotten meat was filling his nostrils at the moment.
"Yeah. Thanks... Did you at least find out anything important?" said James, wrinkling his nose.
"I found out where the Common Room is! I think that's pretty important!" Peter said indignantly.
James nodded and stretched out on his bed, leaning back against some propped up pillows. "Yes. It bloody is. Good job, buddy." He lifted his arm and pointed cocked a finger at Peter.
"I can't believe we never thought of that though," Remus remarked from his curled up position at the top of Sirius's bed. He looked intently at Peter, "Using Wormtail to get in, that is. Guess we underestimated you a bit."
"Yeah, good one, mate." Sirius nodded at Peter, his face now back to his normal color. Peter grinned. Finally, I've proved myself, he thought proudly as he looked around at his friends. He puffed his chest out but rapidly deflated it when he remembered himself as a rat doing it. Nonetheless, he was happy to have done something better than James for once, since James had been fooling around with Sirius and ended up losing Lestrange in the throng of students exiting the Great Hall after breakfast. He frowned slightly, as none of the others had really pointed out or picked on James failure. Or Sirius's- he didn't even get within thirty twenty feet of the Slytherin girl before some other female distracted him. Peter frowned slightly.
"So anyway," James said, rubbing his hands together. A small grin formed on his face and a familiar sparkle lit up his eyes, one that was contagious and spread to Sirius's dark blue eyes quickly, and then even to Remus's tawny ones. Peter couldn't help but feel a little bubbly himself. James continued speaking. "So we know where the damn place is." He paused. "Now we must infiltrate."
Nibbling on her toast, Lily Evans squinted into the steam that was floating up out of the hot cup of tea in front of her. What had they bloody been talking about? She had pondered it for a bit last night before sleep overcame her, but this morning the question kept running through her head mercilessly. She knew she shouldn't really care, that it'd be a whole lot easier just to forget the whole incident altogether, but she just couldn't. Curiousity killed the cat, Lily, she kept trying to tell herself. She was pretty sure she had fallen asleep mumbling the phrase; hopefully no one had heard her.
She took a sip of her tea and felt the hot liquid flow comfortably through her body as she sighed in content. Well. She couldn't help it if she was One Curious Feline. It was hard not to be. At first, she thought she had just stumbled in on a private, late-night, Marauder party, with what Sirius and James laughing hysterically on the floor and all. But then James had said something about a meeting tomorow before they came trudging towards her. Tomorrow, Lily thought, so that would make it today.
Lily smiled cunningly, her tea cup in front of her lips as she prepared to take another sip. Wisps of red hair fell down across her face and her green eyes squinted ever so slightly, refracting light from the large windows of the Great Hall in their brilliant irises. Meow, she thought. I think I'll be staying up late tonight.
-
Wormtail scuttled across the floor after Severus Snape as fast as his little rat legs could carry him. He cursed in his rat mind as Snape turned and headed down another staircase. Bloody staircases, he thought as he stumbled and silently fell down yet another flight. Bloody staircases, bloody Snivellus, bloody having to be a rat, he thought when his soft nose hit the cold stone floor again.
He paused to straighten out his whiskers and then ran after his followee.
After a moment of scampering down a dark, musty hallway, Snape stopped and muttered something in front of a large, stone statue of... well, Wormtail couldn't really tell what it was from his position on the ground. The statue's arm moved and seemed to give a cold wave of acknowledgement as it slid to the side and revealed a large opening that Snape disappeared into. He didn't notice the rat that squeezed in after him right before the statue slid over the opening.
Wormtail's rat-nails made a slight clicking sound that was only audible to him as he hesitantly moved against the wall and surveyed his surroundings. From his position down low, he spied Severus Snape walk past a black, leather chair and then a dark, green couch before ascending a staircase. Several students, some familiar to him, were seated on the couches and chairs that met Wormtail's gaze, and his beady eyes widened as much as they could- he was a rat, after all.
Blimey! he thought as the conclusion hit him. It was the Slytherin Common Room! The place that they'd never been able to locate in all their vain efforts. Sirius and James had always come up with elaborate schemes that had always been busted in one way or another, either by teachers or Slytherin students. They had come to the conclusion that the Slytherins lived so far down in a dirty dungeon that anyone clean and humane wouldn't be able to find it. Never had they thought to ask little Wormtail to try his hand at it! He puffed out his coarse, hairy rat-chest and attempted to grin. He felt very silly sitting there on his haunches, bearing his small, sharp teeth at no one in particular. Luckily none of the Slytherin students noticed him. Filthy scum, he thought, they were probably used to seeing rats around, practically being rats themselves.
Wormtail trotted up to a couch where a laughing Radolfus Lestrange was lazily perched. His white-blonde hair fell about his face and his icy gray eyes glittered madly. Hmm, wasn't James supposed to follow him? Wormtail thought. Perhaps James was in the Common Room too. He glanced around and then looked back up at Lestrange, who was sitting next to a giggling, blonde, pale girl with a slightly upturned nose.
"But, Radolfus, you promised!" the girl whined before she erupted into another fit of giggles. She moved closer to him and they proceeded to snog on the couch right before him. Wormtail turned away and tried to keep down his breakfast. I have to get out of here, this is disgusting, he thought. He scurried back towards where he had entered the room and realized with a sickening thud in his stomach that he wouldn't be able to get out. He didn't even know how. He sat and stared at the entrance, waiting for someone to come in or go out. And he waited. And waited.
-
"My God! I was waiting for-BLOODY-ever!" sputtered Peter, as he recounted the day's events to his friends. "I thought I was going to die of old age and then rot on the bloody floor! Not that I would've cared about rotting on their floor," he added. "But what's worse, I had to listen to that vile git and his little whore snog- no, SLOBBER- on the couch right behind me!" He threw up his hands and looked at his friends sitting in the dormitory.
Sirius, who had been lounging on the end of his bed, turned a sickly shade of green and gritted his teeth with a sour expression on his face."Uhh. Thanks, Wormtail..." he said as he glanced at James, who looked like the scent of rotten meat was filling his nostrils at the moment.
"Yeah. Thanks... Did you at least find out anything important?" said James, wrinkling his nose.
"I found out where the Common Room is! I think that's pretty important!" Peter said indignantly.
James nodded and stretched out on his bed, leaning back against some propped up pillows. "Yes. It bloody is. Good job, buddy." He lifted his arm and pointed cocked a finger at Peter.
"I can't believe we never thought of that though," Remus remarked from his curled up position at the top of Sirius's bed. He looked intently at Peter, "Using Wormtail to get in, that is. Guess we underestimated you a bit."
"Yeah, good one, mate." Sirius nodded at Peter, his face now back to his normal color. Peter grinned. Finally, I've proved myself, he thought proudly as he looked around at his friends. He puffed his chest out but rapidly deflated it when he remembered himself as a rat doing it. Nonetheless, he was happy to have done something better than James for once, since James had been fooling around with Sirius and ended up losing Lestrange in the throng of students exiting the Great Hall after breakfast. He frowned slightly, as none of the others had really pointed out or picked on James failure. Or Sirius's- he didn't even get within thirty twenty feet of the Slytherin girl before some other female distracted him. Peter frowned slightly.
"So anyway," James said, rubbing his hands together. A small grin formed on his face and a familiar sparkle lit up his eyes, one that was contagious and spread to Sirius's dark blue eyes quickly, and then even to Remus's tawny ones. Peter couldn't help but feel a little bubbly himself. James continued speaking. "So we know where the damn place is." He paused. "Now we must infiltrate."