Disclaimer- "Let's say I got some money from writing this story and I bought a really great pair of shoes. Do you know what I would hear with every step I took'Harry Potter is not mine, not mine.' And even if I was happy and skipping I'd hear 'He's not not mine, not not mine' " Anyway to suffice Harry Potter is not mine and neither is the TV show Friends. Hopefully most of you recognized that as a Friends' quote.
Authoress' Note- This chapter is dedicated to my new favorite reviewer blinkgurl017 because she said she was sure my book I'm writing will get published even without ever reading any of it! Thank you so much for the confidence boost! Also ShadowFire2, you are still one of my favorite reviewers because awhile back you said this story is as good as Ms. Rowling could do! Thank you! E.D.J.
Here are my other thank yous!
ShadowFire2-Thanks for your loyal reviewing and it's fine if you can't review this one!
Professor D. S. Silvers- You like to change your pen name don't you? Well thanks for the loud cheer!
majohime-I am almost positive Lily will be in the next chapter, but I'm not sure because I stil have to write it! Tsk tsk. I'm behind!
blinkgurl017-Thanks for the long review!
Ch. 13- We've Found a Way to Hogsmeade!
"Geroff, Peter! Let me do it!" hissed Sirius, shoving Peter out of the way, so he himself could lean against the mirror.
The large mirror disappeared, revealing the same earthy passageway the Marauders had found earlier that day.
"Finally!" breathed Remus. "I thought Potions would never end! Can you believe Professor Wolcosh was in Hufflepuff?"
"No, but everyone else will." Sirius grinned evilly, as they started down the wide tunnel, kicking up dust clouds as they went, causing the boys to cough and choke.
"Where do you think this leads?" James sputtered as the tunnel got darker and darker.
The boys all muttered "Lumos!" eager for some light.
"I dunno," said Peter, raising his wand above his head and glancing around at the hard-packed dirt floor and walls. "Somewhere else in the castle?"
"Are there any hidden passages that lead out of the castle?" Remus wondered aloud, even though he knew perfectly well that there was at least one.
"That'd be brilliant if it does!" James said excitedly, kicking up another dirt cloud, causing the boys to promptly start coughing once again.
"Like out onto the grounds or -- OW!" Sirius massaged his head, cursing as the passage ended abruptly.
The boys found that Sirius had smashed into an ancient, rotting wooden door at the end of the passageway. James reached for the doorknob while Sirius whined and moaned over his injured head, and Remus and Peter sighed at having to listen to Sirius's endless complaints.
James wiped a large amount of cobwebs from the doorknob with the end of his robes and then jiggled the rusty knob. The door slid open soundlessly.The boys ducked under the low, rotting doorway and found themselves faced with a large amount of musty, old, emerald-colored fabric.
They could hear voices on the other side of the material, and they slowly sidled out and found themselves inside a small, rather dusty shop filled with a variety of magical instruments and equipment such as brass scales and lunascopes.
The fabric turned out to be an old, tattered tapestry portraying a small burning hill village and a group of wizards subduing a large black dragon with a number of colorful and dangerous-looking spells. The tapestry looked as if it hadn't been moved in centuries. One would wonder if the owners had ever discovered the passageway to Hogwarts hidden in their shop.
"Welcome ter Dervish and Banges!" boomed a deep voice, and the four boys jumped a few feet in the air and whirled around. "Can I help yeh boys with anything?" asked the large mustached clerk behind them. "I'm Mister Banges. I cause a lot o' bangs if yeh know what I mean." He laughed heartily at his poor joke, and the Marauders gave weak smiles. "So, boys, need anything?" asked Mr. Banges, peering suspiciously at them, wondering what four boys were doing in the village on a school day, especially in the middle of the afternoon.
"Oh er ... no. We're fine," said James nervously, shifting anxiously from foot to foot.
The man continued to squint at them for a moment before finally saying, "What yeh boys doin' in Hogsmeade? I'm supposed ter report in if I catches any students out o' school."
"Oh, you think we're at Hogwarts already?" said Sirius, laughing loudly, as he racked his brain for an excuse. "No, we'll be starting next year. We just came here from Surrey with our families for a er ... day trip."
"Yes! Hogsmeade's a very interesting place," Remus added enthusiastically."So much history!"
Mr. Banges nodded. "Only place in Britain with no Muggles about." He smiled at the Marauders and then went and busied himself behind the register, not paying them another glance, despite Sirius's poor lie.
"Hogsmeade! We're in Hogsmeade!" hissed Sirius once the man was out of earshot.
"Students aren't allowed here unless it's a special weekend! And even then you have to be in the third year! We might get caught!" Peter murmured worriedly, wringing his hands.
"All the better reason to explore now!" said Sirius, grinning an evil smile, and he walked out of the shop, dragging a protesting Peter along with him as James and Remus followed.
The boys shivered, cold frosty air biting through their clothing, as they stepped outside. They hadn't thought to bring cloaks with them. They trudged through the deep snow, passing many different shops including a particular appealing one: a bright, colorfully decorated shop called Zonko's Joke Shop.
They eagerly went in, and the boys gazed in wonder at the sight before them. Everything they could ever use for pranking was there! Dungbombs, Exploding Quills, Non-Exploding Luminous Balloons, and even fake rats that would scuttle around and scare your friends!
But their happy moods soon deflated. They hadn't thought to bring any gold with them.
"Damn, I should have brought a few coins with!" said James sulkily, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Hey! My Galleon from winning the bet about Sirius and ..." He trailed off, as he caught sight of Sirius glaring at him for bringing up that particular memory. "Anyway ... let's buy as many things as we can!"
The boys collected a small pile of items to buy, including shampoo which made the victim's hair change a rainbow of colors for twenty-four hours, some blue powder that made any food or drink taste like vomit, and a piece of parchment that insulted anyone who read it.
"We should give the shampoo to Evans and Meadows for Christmas!" hissed James gleefully, as they trudged up High Street, their pockets full to bursting.
"Brilliant idea, Jamesie!" said Sirius, grinning as he ducked James's swinging fist.
"Wow, look at that!" breathed James, as they came to a stop and gazed up at a large rickety old house perched on top of the nearby hill. "What do reckon that is?" He cocked his head at the house, which was quite literally falling to pieces.
"Let's ask," said Sirius, shoving Peter over to where a black-haired woman was clearing snow away from the post office's entryway with her wand.
"Er ... excuse me," said Peter nervously, his voice rather high. "Could you tell us what that house is?" He pointed up the hill.
"Ah that's the Shrieking Shack," said the woman wisely. "Lots o' howls and shrieks have been comin' out of there lately. Here, in the village, we think a couple o' rowdy spirits have moved in there. Haunted place. Boys shouldn't go any nearer. There's no tellin' what those spirits could do to you if you get too close."
"Thank you," said Peter, bobbing his head at the woman, who shivered and went inside the post office. Peter then relayed what the woman had said back to his friends.
"I er ... don't know about you but I don't want to disturb ... what was it again? 'A couple o' rowdy spirits'," said Remus, imitating the woman. "Anyway, I want to get back to school. Herbology starts in fifteen minutes."
"Aren't you the little swot, Remmy?" said James, smirking. "Honestly, wanting to get back to school! I'd rather eat dragon dung!"
Remus glared at James, not knowing if it was because James had called him a swot and Remmy or because they'd be late for Herbology if they didn't get back soon. He supposed it was a bit of each and the fact that they were so near the Shrieking Shack. It made him feel very uneasy. He shivered, knowing it had nothing to do with the cold.
"All for skiving off Herbology in favor of some well-deserved fun?" said Sirius, plopping himself down in the snow and instantly regretting it as his robes became damp.
"I'm in!" said James, grinning as he sat down next to his friend, even though Sirius had already begun complaining about how wet and cold he was.
"Oh alright as long as we don't go near that Shrieking Shack. It gives me the creeps." Remus sat down too and yelped as frigid coldness bit through his robes.
"Well, if everyone else is staying!" said Peter, throwing himself down in the snow and spraying snow at his friends.
"Hey!" shouted Sirius. "Now I'm even more wet!"
He threw a handful of snow at Peter, who ducked and Sirius's snowball hit James instead. James tried to hit Sirius with another snowball, but ended up hitting Remus full in the face. Soon, the boys had a full-fledged snowball fight going on.
"That was stupid," said James, a few minutes later, his teeth chattering as the boys shivered in their wet robes."Very stupid indeed," said Sirius. His lips were blue, and he rubbed his hands together for warmth. "I blame you, Peter," he added.
"Hey!" said Peter, pushing Sirius into a snowdrift.
"I quite agree with your opinion, Sirius," said James, and he shoved Peter into the snow beside Sirius.
Remus, not wanting to end up in the snow too, crept up behind James and tapped his shoulder.
"Wha--" began James before his words were muffled, as he was pushed headfirst into a mound of snow.
"Now you'll get it!" yelled James around a mouthful of snow, and he got up and began advancing toward Remus.
"Tsk, tsk," replied Remus condescendingly. "You may want to know something first."
"What?" sighed James.
"I happen to know a drying spell, and, if I end up in the snow, I will personally make sure all three of you stay as wet as water."
"Very wet then," commented Sirius.
"Ok you win, Remmy ol' pal," said James, backing away and plastering on a fake smile.
"How about that drying spell then?" said Sirius, standing up and shaking snow out of his dark hair. "Some of us are quite chilled. And did I mention that you, Remus, are one of the most accomplished wizards I have ever had the privilege of meeting?"
Peter and James nodded and murmured, "Yes, so very accomplished."
Remus muttered something that sounded like 'no good brown-nosers' before muttering the spell and pointing his wand at himself and each of his friends.
"Thank you!" screeched Sirius, kneeling down and pretending to kiss Remus's feet while getting his robes wet again in the process."I'm wet again!" he moaned.
"What a newsflash!" muttered Remus, performing the drying spell again.
"Anyway what time is it, Remus?" asked James, shrugging off yet more snow that the drying spell hadn't managed to get.
"A quarter 'til six," said Remus absently, glancing at his watch. He gasped and looked at it again. "We've missed Defense Against the Dark Arts and Herbology!"
"Don't panic, Remmy," said James, yawning.
"We have dinner in fifteen minutes! I'm already panicking!" replied Remus frantically.
"Fine we'll go back, no need to throw a tantrum, Remmy!" James declared.
"Thank you."
Remus dragged his three friends back to Dervish and Banges, wondering how in Merlin's good name they were supposed to slip behind the tapestry without looking like a bunch of crazy loons, especially when the shop was empty of customers.
"Back again, boys?" asked Mr. Banges, striding over to them with a tall thin man in tow.
"Hello, Mr. Banges," said James politely. "We're just waiting for our parents."
"Greetings! This is my associate Mr. Dervish." Mr. Banges motioned at the man beside him.
"Welcome, boys," said the thin man, squinting suspiciously at them. "What brings you four to Hogsmeade?"
"We're on a day trip with our parents," Peter responded automatically.
"Interesting," said Mr. Dervish lightly, his pale eyes narrowed. "Shouldn't you be in school?"
"School?" said Sirius, laughing nervously. "We aren't even first years yet."
"Really?" said Mr. Dervish, eyeing them suspiciously. "How ... fortunate. We wouldn't want to send the lot of you back up to school and have you expelled, would we?"
As the other three continued to chatter nervously with the two shopkeepers, James slowly pulled his wand out and hid it behind his back. He muttered a spell before glancing out the window and exclaiming, "Look! There's a fire!"
"Where?" yelped the two men, sprinting outside to douse the large blaze James had conjured up with his wand.
"Now go!" James screeched, and the four boys dashed to the tapestry and flung it aside. They whisked the door open and were gone before you could say "Tarentallegra."
Please review! I want to get up to 40-45 reviews before I post the next chapter so that means I need 10-15 reviews! Review and tell your friends about the story and have them review and have them tell their friends about the story and have them review and so on and so forth! E.D.J.