A Marauder's Life For Me
Chapter 3
James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and the rest of the new Gryffindors were led down to the Great Hall by Drew and Brianna the next morning. They also handed out the new course schedules during breakfast.
"Transfiguration first," James pointed out as he grabbed a few waffles and put them on his plate. "Ooh, double potions with the Slytherins in the afternoon."
"Know of any good hexes?" Sirius asked, grinning; Remus stared at the two of them, wide-eyed.
"Plenty," James replied, plainly ignoring the scowl Remus was now giving them.
"It's only the first day!" Remus said in disbelief. "Are you two trying to lose points for Gryffindor already?"
"No," Sirius said pointedly. "We're just trying to have some fun."
Just then, the mail arrived. Owls of all different shapes, sizes, and colors came swooping down over the house tables, looking for their owners. To James's surprise, Merlin was one of them; Remus had to move the pitcher of pumpkin juice to stop him from landing in it.
"Hoo!" Merlin said, his mouth still full of letter.
"Let me have that," James said playfully, pulling the letter out of Merlin's beak.
James ripped open the letter and immediately recognized the untidy scrawl; he had seen the handwriting on many letters to his mother and father. The letter was from Hagrid.
James,
Care for a cup of tea with me 'round five? Send Merlin back with your answer.
Hagrid
P.S. Feel free to bring your new friends, too.
James borrowed Sirius's quill, wrote, 'Yes, please. See you later' on the letter, patted Merlin, and then sent him off again.
"Sirius?"
"Mmm?" he said, still immersed in the Daily Prophet.
"Do you fancy a cup of tea with Hagrid around five?" James asked.
"Sure," Sirius replied. "Remus, want to come with us?"
"I don't see why not," Remus said. "It might be fun. Peter?"
"I'm there!" Peter said, his eyes shining with excitement again.
The four of them found their way to Transfiguration without a problem. They walked into the classroom and took four seats in the back.
"Where's the Professor?" Peter asked.
"I don't know, but I reckon it's someplace important," Remus said, sitting down.
"Bloody brilliant!" Sirius yelled, for the tabby cat that had been sitting on the desk had just turned into Professor McGonagall.
"Thank you, Mr. Black. Now if Mr. Potter will kindly sit down – " James grinned sheepishly and took his seat, "we will begin."
Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and notes about transformations appeared on the blackboard.
"Please copy down these notes," she said to the class. "When you are done, we will begin turning matches into needles."
The only sound that could be heard for the next few minutes was the scratching of quills on parchment. After about five minutes, all was quiet once more.
"Miss Turner," Professor McGonagall said to Daria, "would you please hand out the matches? Thank you."
After another ten minutes with mutters of the incantation and some quiet chatter, there was a call of excitement from both Sirius and James.
"Hey, Professor!"
Both of their matches had become needles; they were silver and pointy. Professor McGonagall examined the needles, then turned and gave Sirius and James a rare smile. A few minutes later, there was another cry of excitement. This time, however, it was a girl's voice.
"Professor, come here! I think I've done it!"
It was Lily who had yelled. She was busy being congratulated by Meaghan, Daria, and Kat when Professor McGonagall walked over. In Lily's right hand was a small silver needle.
"It looks like you've got some competition, mate!" Sirius said, grinning at James.
It was a good thing that Remus had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Gryffindors' first Potions lesson was horrible – for him and Lily, at least. Sirius and James, however, seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"Hey, Snivellus!" Sirius called to Snape.
Snape, who had been walking a fair distance in front of Sirius on the way to Potions, did not realize that Sirius was referring to him. Finally, the four friends reached the dungeons where Potions lessons were held. Professor Halley, the Potions Master, was seated behind his desk when the Gryffindors arrived.
"Settle down, settle down," Professor Halley said. "Today, we will be making a Confusion Concoction. Here – " he tapped his wand on the board behind him and instructions appeared there, "are the directions. You have one hour and ten minutes. Begin."
"Hey, Snivellus," Sirius said.
Snape, who was sharing the preparation table with Sirius, looked up from his ingredients to stare at him.
"The name's Severus," Snape said brusquely.
'He reminds me of Bellatrix,' Sirius thought to himself. 'I wonder if he knows her…' His thoughts were cut short, however, by James prodding him on the shoulder.
"Wands out, hexes at the ready, do you reckon?" James asked quietly while grinning broadly.
Sirius nodded and pulled out his wand, hiding it behind his back so that it was not visible to Snape.
"Snivellus," Sirius said again.
As Snape turned, Sirius and James each hit him with a different hex. Snape had been standing when he turned around, but James's Jelly Legs Jinx made him lose his balance. In order to prevent himself from falling over, Snape grabbed the nearest thing to him – his flask of pomegranate juice. The juice spilled all over the floor, as well as all over him.
Sirius had hit Snape with a Stinging Hex, which caused him to yell in pain, a yell that caught Professor Halley's attention.
"Boys! What warranted such an attack? Twenty points from Gryffindor!" Professor Halley yelled over the commotion.
Professor Halley muttered the countercurses to Sirius and James's hexes as Snape stood up, wand out, panting heavily.
"Impedimenta!" Snape roared, pointing his wand at James.
Unfortunately for James, Snape's aim was dead on. The curse hit James square in the chest, sending him flying backwards into the wall by the door, which he hit with an extremely loud THUD.
Sirius launched himself at Snape as Professor Halley stood up on his desk, making his wand emit a volley of firecrackers and bangs to regain the class's attention.
"SILENCE!" he roared.
The smoke from the firecrackers cleared to reveal Lily standing over James (it was obvious that she had been yelling at him moments before), Sirius pinning Snape to the wall; his arm across Snape's throat, and the rest of the class standing randomly about the room, looking at either Lily and James or Sirius and Snape.
"Mr. Black, remove your arm from across Mr. Snape's throat. Miss Evans, please escort both Mr. Black and Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing and then to your Head of House. Mr. Snape, twenty points from Slytherin for your retaliation. Report to your Head of House now. All of you, go."
Snape picked up his bag and walked out of the classroom without so much as a backward glance, his robes billowing behind him. Lily went back to her cauldron, picked up her bag, and helped Sirius escort/carry James to the Hospital Wing, the dungeon door shutting behind them with a BANG.
"Why did you attack him?" Lily asked, shaking her head. "There was no reason for such a thing."
"He deserved it," Sirius piped up.
"Deserved it?" Lily asked, turning her head to look at Sirius. "What could he possibly have done to make him deserve it?"
"He's a Slytherin," Sirius said as the three of them reached the Hospital Wing.
"He's a Slytherin! That's your reason?" Lily exploded at him as they lowered James onto a bed.
"This is a hospital ward, not a rock concert!" Madam Thomas said angrily as she strode over to the three of them. "Now, what is it that you need?"
"James got blasted against the dungeon wall by a curse," Sirius said before Lily could open her mouth. "Professor Halley wanted him checked out."
"Fine," Madam Thomas said, glancing at James, who was laying flat on his back with his eyes closed. "I'll be there in a minute."
Madam Thomas walked back over to the patient she had been helping when the three of them came in as Lily rounded on James.
"And Potter, what is your explanation for attacking Snape?"
"I thought it would be funny," James mumbled, soft enough that Lily had to lean down towards him to hear.
"You thought it would be funny? Attacking another student is funny?" Lily said, earning herself a glare from Madam Thomas. "What planet were you brought up on? Because here on Earth, attacking another student isn't funny, it's wrong."
A few minutes later, Madam Thomas let James out of the Hospital Wing a few minutes later after bandaging his chest – the knock against the wall had broken a few of James's ribs. Lily then led him and Sirius to Professor McGonagall's office.
Professor McGonagall ranted to Sirius and James about proper behavior before giving both of them a detention with Professor Halley. Lily stood outside the door listening to the speech, smiling to herself. When Professor McGonagall finished, she sent Sirius, James, and Lily back to the common room. It was half past five when they entered through the portrait hole.
"James, Sirius, what took you so long?" Remus asked, putting the book he was reading down on a side table and getting up from an armchair to greet them.
"I had to take them to the Hospital Wing and then to McGonagall," Lily put in. "Remus, do you have notes from Potions that I can borrow?"
"Sure, Lily," Remus said. "I'll get them for you later."
"Thanks," Lily replied, and headed up the girls' dormitory staircase.
"Now, James, are you okay?" Remus asked.
"A few broken ribs, but other than that, I'm fine," James replied.
Peter, who was standing behind Remus, looked from James and Sirius, to his watch, and then back to the other three.
"Weren't we supposed to be at Hagrid's a half hour ago?" he asked.
Remus looked at his wristwatch, which he had charmed to work around magic, and then to the rest of the group.
"He's right, it's almost quarter to six," Remus said. "We better get going."
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter left Gryffindor Tower through the portrait hole and headed down across the grounds to Hagrid's hut. James, who had gotten to the door first, knocked.
"Hagrid, it's James. Sorry we're late, we were delayed by McGonagall. May we come in?" James asked.
"Sure," Hagrid replied. "Give me a sec."
They all heard several booming barks, in response to which Peter shrank back in fear. Just then, the door opened.
"Come on in, I just put the kettle on the fire," Hagrid said, gesturing to it.
James entered first; Sirius, Remus, and Peter followed. Peter, however, was hesitant to come in after hearing the barks from what sounded like a really big dog.
"So these are yer new friends, eh James?"
"Yep. Hagrid, this is Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew," James said, pointing to each one in turn.
"Another Black, eh? I've already met Andromeda, an' Narcissa's been here a couple o' times. She enjoys the company," Hagrid said as he poured them all tea.
"Really? How come she never told me this?" Sirius asked furiously.
"Calm down, Sirius. Don't take it out on us that Narcissa doesn't tell you anything," James said, trying hard to keep from laughing.
"No, it's not that. It's that I'm actually very surprised Narcissa's been down here, her being the way she is," Sirius said.
A big black dog ambled out from under Hagrid's bed. It walked over to James, licked his ears, then started off towards Peter. Instinctively, Peter stood and began to back up.
"Oh, tha's jus' Fang," Hagrid said.
"Fang?" Peter said, his voice quavering.
"Coward, really. He wouldn't hurt a fly."
"Oh, okay," Peter said, but he still didn't sound convinced.
Fang kept moving towards Peter, and Peter kept backing up until he hit the wall and sank into a chair by the door. Fang sat down next to him and began drooling all over his robes. Peter tried to push Fang off, but to no avail. James, Sirius, and Remus laughed when they saw Fang drooling all over Peter.
"So, how was yer firs' day?" Hagrid asked James.
"Would you care to explain?" James asked, turning to Sirius and grinning.
"It would be my pleasure," Sirius replied, grinning back at James.
Lily walked up the girls' dormitory steps, thinking of doing her Transfiguration homework on her bed in the dorm, where it was quiet. Except that when she got there, someone was already sitting on her bed. It was a brunette with blue eyes, one of the girls who had congratulated her earlier for turning her match into a needle. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, and she was talking animatedly to two other girls sitting on the bed across from Lily's. When Lily walked in, she looked up from the conversation.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Is this your bed?" the girl asked.
"Yeah, but you can stay there if you want," Lily replied with a smile. "Which bed is yours?"
"The one next to the bed Kat and Meaghan are sitting on. I'm Daria Turner, by the way," she said.
"Lily Evans. So which one of you is which?"
"I'm Meaghan McCormack," the girl with wavy blonde hair that fell halfway down her back said, "and this is Katrina Hunt."
Katrina was a brunette like Daria with deep brown eyes. She turned to Meaghan as she heard her name.
"Meg, you know I like Kat better," Katrina said.
"Sorry, but for sake of introductions, you're Katrina," Meaghan replied.
"Are we the only new Gryffindor first year girls?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Daria said.
"Ooh, want to go make friends with the new guys?" Meg asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Sure," Lily replied. "I don't see why not."
Lily, Daria, Kat, and Meg walked down their staircase and up the guys' one. They reached the first year landing, and Kat knocked on the door. However, there was no answer.
"What d'you reckon?" Daria asked.
"I don't know where they could be; they're not in the common room," Kat said.
"How about the library?" Lily suggested.
"James Potter in the library? Ha! I've known him long enough to know that he doesn't need the library," Meg said.
The other three girls turned to stare at Meg as she said this.
"How d'you know James Potter?" Kat asked.
"We're neighbors," Meg replied. "He lives in the house next to mine."
"Ooh, fun!" Daria exclaimed.
"Okay, back to the subject at hand. How about Hagrid's?" Lily asked.
"Let's go see," Meg said, and the four new friends set off for Hagrid's cabin.
"Let's just say Transfiguration wasn't bad, and Potions was entertaining," Sirius said with a gleam in his eyes and a slight smile on his face.
"Maybe for you two it was!" Remus interjected angrily.
"Why? Wha'd they do?" Hagrid asked, his beard twitching.
"They lost twenty points from Gryffindor on the first day of lessons, and James ended up with a few broken ribs, that's what they did!"
"Broken ribs?" Hagrid asked, looking concerned. "How'd tha' happen?"
Sirius put a hand to the left of his mouth, leaned over to Hagrid and whispered, "Don't ask," while pointing at Remus.
"Anyway, Remus, we'll earn those points back at Quidditch. Gryffindor's pretty good, from what I've heard," James said. "Although, they would be better with me on the team…"
"James, you know perfectly well that first years aren't allowed on the house teams," Remus said pointedly.
"We all know that," Sirius said, "but I wouldn't mind being a Beater."
"Ah, dream on, you two," Hagrid said, smiling at Sirius and James.
Just then, a knock sounded on the front door. Hagrid went to answer it.
"Hello, Hagrid," Meaghan said. "Are the Gryffindor first year boys here?"
"Yeah. James brought his friends down for tea. Would you girls' like teh come in for a cup?"
"What d'you think?" Daria asked, looking at the three other girls. "I'd like some tea."
"Me too," Meaghan said.
"Tea would be nice," Lily said, and James, upon hearing Lily's voice, began ruffling his hair.
The four girls came in, and Hagrid pulled up the three other chairs that had been sitting in the back of the cabin. Sirius then noticed that they were short one chair. He offered the chair that was on James's left to Lily, who said 'thank you' and sat down.
Sirius tapped Meaghan on the shoulder and offered her his chair.
"Thanks," Meaghan replied, smiling at him as she took the chair and sat down.
Sirius found a stool under the counter at the back of the hut, grabbed it, and sat between Meaghan and Lily. He grinned at James, who grinning back while thinking about how best to impress Lily. However, Meaghan's voice interrupted James's musings.
"I think it's time we get to know one another better. I'll start. My – "
"Ooh, goody! Circle time!" Sirius interrupted.
"Shut up, Sirius," James said.
"Thanks, James," Meaghan said, and James nodded at her in reply. "I'm Meaghan McCormack, but I usually go by Meg."
"I'm – " Daria started, but was interrupted by Sirius (again).
"Hang on. You're Meaghan McCormack," Sirius said.
"Yeah," Meg said, looking at him questioningly.
"Daughter of Catriona McCormack, who plays Chaser for Pride of Portree?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah," Meg said, blushing slightly.
"Wow," Daria said softly.
"Your mom is my idol," Sirius said. "I'm going to have to worship you now."
The entire group laughed at this statement.
"Please don't do that," Meg said, blushing bright crimson now.
"Okay, moving on. I'm Daria Turner."
"Katrina Hunt, but I usually go by Kat," she said, blushing slightly as Remus smiled at her.
"Sirius Black, Prankmaster Extraordinaire," Sirius said, pretending to take off an imaginary hat.
"Excuse me, Sirius, but I believe that is my title," James said.
"Too late," Sirius replied. "I said it first."
"Doesn't matter," James put in.
"Yes, it – "
"Okay, enough, both of you," Remus said, looking back and forth between Sirius and James. "I'm Remus Lupin, although I do tend to play peacekeeper as well."
Once again, they all laughed.
"James Potter," James said, winking and flashing a dazzling smile at Lily, who blushed.
"Lily Evans," Lily said quietly, looking at Sirius and purposely not at James.
"Peter Pettigrew," came Peter's voice from over by the door.
They had all jumped when Peter spoke; most of them had forgotten he was there. Fang, however, had not. While the group of friends talked, Remus sat thinking. The full moon was in two days. He was debating whether or not to tell his new friends the truth about his condition. In the end, he decided against it, at least for the time being.
"Remus?" James asked.
Remus, who had been deep in thought, jumped and looked around quizzically.
"What?" he asked, puzzled.
"You didn't say goodbye to the girls when they left," Sirius said. "What's wrong with you, don't you know how to treat a lady?"
"I do, it's just … I was thinking about something else," Remus replied, and got up from his chair, joining the others as they returned to Gryffindor Tower.
A/N - I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to update this. I'm just about done the next chapter; I'll have my next update done by next Monday, I promise. Thanks so much to all my reviewers - you ROCK! Until next time!
astronomylover