Timeless Escapades

Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I love Harry Potter to death... unfortunately none of it belongs to me! sob

James Potter was not a happy person at the present time. That Harry Prowner kid, was really getting under his skin, so to speak, and his patience was wearing thin. Who did he think he was, anyway. Barging into Hogwarts and into his life was not something to be taken lightly, especially when the guy could just get on Lily's good side without even trying. It wasn't fair!

"James! Slow down!"

James turned around and watched as Sirius and Remus both caught up with him. Something has to be done! Prowner was cutting in on his life and he wasn't about to stand for it any longer... especially when the guy seemed to want Lily almost as much as he did.

"We have to do something about that kid!" James said, his eyes flashing wildly.

Remus raised his eye brows while Sirius nodded in agreement. Sirius would follow James off a bridge if he had to, they had always been together, ever since they put their differences aside and joined forces in the art of mischief making. Remus on the other hand was not the sort of person that would follow through with anything if he had not analysed the situation first. It would be a bit harder to convince Remus to take action against Harry.

"James, he's not worth it. Why does he bother you so much, anyway?" Remus asked, brushing a piece of hair away from his face.

"Because he's going to hurt Lily." James snapped. "If he can hurt the whole Gryffindor House then he can do it to her. The guy's a menace."

"Menace?" Sirius echoed. "James, it was just a Quidditch game."

James growled softly and turned away. "Sirius, the boy turned up in a cupboard! What if he's some kind of support of You Know Who?"

Sirius hesitated a bit before shaking his head. "James, he only lost a quidditch game because of a broom, not because of firing up the Dark Mark in the sky."

"What was with that broom, anyway!?" James exploded. "I've never seen anything like it before in my life! What was it? A Firebolt? Why didn't we notice it sooner!"

Sirius just shrugged. "Maybe it was a new prototype? Come on, James, he's just a normal kid! Why are you so against him?"

Remus took the time to add his two cents. "Sirius is right, James. Although, I do agree that there is something different about Harry. Maybe it's just something about him being from Beaubaxton."

James sighed, "We have to look into this, guys. I mean... there's something wrong here. Harry looks exactly like me, and have to you noticed how he just looks at us sometimes? Especially at you, Sirius."

Sirius sighed, "You're right. What should we do?"

"I think that the best place to start, would be his trunk." James told them.

The three Marauders headed down the hallway, discussing their new task.

Harry only picked at his dinner that night. His mother had urged him to eat, telling him every other minute that he was too skinny for his own good. She would have been a great mum... Harry found himself thinking, just watching Lily spoon green beans and mash potatoes on to his plate as though he was an invalid.

James, Sirius, and Remus were also acting very odd. James always looked angry, Sirius in awe, and Remus with a critical expression. James's reaction was to be expected, though. Harry's stomach had been in knots ever since Lily had landed her slap on James in the common room. It made him sick, thinking that his parents had been worst enemies in their years at school. How had they ever gotten married, even? Could it have been possible that James had force his mum into the whole thing? Harry didn't have the guts to find out.

"Harry? You look really tired, are you okay?"

Harry looked over at Lily, who was currently siting at one of the tables with him, completing the last of their homework. The truth was, he felt awful. The scar on his forehead was prickling uncomfortably almost every minute of the day now, which meant that Voldemort had gotten news of something.

"I'm fine, Lils. Just a bit tired." Harry yawned, setting down his quill.

"Oh, maybe you should go rest, Harry. I'm sure that all of those boys are asleep already, I saw them go up around ten minutes ago." Lily told him, glaring at the boys staircase.

Harry laughed and packed up his work. "Yeah, I think that I'll go and have a bit of a rest."

Lily bid him goodnight and made her way up to the girls dormitories. Harry climbed up his own staircase and pushed open the door to his rooms.

Three figures were huddled around the foot of his four poster, one of them being James Potter, who was holding his only photo album.

James, Sirius, and Remus were all in the boys dormitory, gathered around the foot of Harry's bed. Remus stood watching nervously as Sirius and James picked at the lock of Prowner's trunk.

"Do you really think that we should be doing this?" Remus asked, tugging nervously at his robes. "I mean, isn't this kind of like breaking and entering?'

Sirius sighed as James kept at the lock. "We have to know Moony. What if he's a spy for Voldemort, or something? We can't let anyone else get hurt. How would you feel if he hurt someone when we could have done something about it?"

"Got it!" James said, straightening up and taking the broken lock of the trunk. "Alright, you guys ready?"

Both Marauders nodded their consent and James pushed open the lid.

It looked like a normal trunk...

James and Sirius bent over and started to shift through the contents. They found the usual stuff, socks, shirts, robes, and other things...

Sirius pulled out a silvery cloak and a piece of parchment. "James," he breathed. "He has an invisibility cloak! And... no way."

"What?" Remus asked, moving forward. "What is it, Sirius?"

"It's the map! Look at it... it's the Marauder's Map!"

"Where on earth did he get that!?"

"Guys..."

Sirius and Remus looked over at James, who had a book in his lap. James lifted it up for them to see and saw the cover. Photo Album was the title, and they all exchanged an amused glance.

"Well, let's see what he's hiding." James said, flipping the cover over.

The first page was full of young faces, none recognizable accept for a boy who looked a bit like Arthur Weasley and a girl with bushy brown hair. But they weren't prepared for the other pictures they found.

Pictures of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Lily Evans, and James Potter stared back at them... one looked as though it was on the day of a wedding, others of them looking older... the list went on and on.

"What do you think you're doing!"

James, Sirius, and Remus all turned to the door, only to find Harry gaping back at them.

There you are! Please review! Happy New Year!

Saph Starlet