I don't like writing in Harry's perspective, so anything more that I write will most likely only be in James', Snape's, or maybe Lily's perspective...

I'm not exactly focused at the moment, so don't expect a stunning new chapter....Then again, my unfocused mind might end up cooking up a masterpiece...who knows...^_^

Chapter Sixteen: Waiting

Mrs. Norris stopped for a moment and her lamp like eyes swerved in Harry's direction, and Harry, having had experience with matters having to do with Filch's cat, hurried away down the other end of the corridor. He didn't remember the arguing voices until early the next morning, and when he went to the room it was empty and the candle was gone.

* * *

James peered around the corner and looked for any sign of movement from the darkness beyond. The corridor was completely void of any movement, so he led the way onwards towards Gryffindor tower.

It felt very strange to travel through time. It had felt as if he were reliving those days that he were going back through, because it certainly seemed as if it had taken that long to go through them. Shapes and voices had passed, flickering, so that he could barely catch glimpses or hear their voices catching in his ear. And now that they'd arrived it felt stranger still. Everything felt different. There was a feeling laying over them all, even though they did not discuss it, that they weren't in the right place, that they weren't supposed to be here and that they must go, now.

Of course, eventually, they all over passed the thought, believing that this must be some part of time travel. And the marauders, though they'd already traveled into a past time and already knew what if felt like, didn't wonder that this time it felt different.

Once they heard voices and retreated into the dark shadows while two men passed, arguing insistently about something that was completely incomprehensible due to the fact that they were both nearly yelling, and at the same time. Though none of them recognized the two men, they didn't wonder at this fact. So insistent were they all upon reaching a place to hide to wait for the day to come.

They had argued about it for a while. And they'd finally settled on the possibility that they'd come into the right time too early, and so would have to wait until the time came to see "the kiss". Or rather, James had come to settle at this. He hadn't given anyone else to give their own opinions on the matter.

Then there had been the argument over the arrival of Lily and Snape. The two people whom James had least of all wished to come along. And Snape of all people, still thought he had some sort of blackmailer's power over them all. There he'd stood, smirking like he was smarter than them all, standing with his arms crossed over his chest like, to James' mind, some sort of damned god like he owned the place!

And James had been right. Lily had wanted to come along, and she'd done just so. But even if she'd come along, he'd still put up quite a good fight, in his own opinion, to keep her from coming any further with them. Besides, if she was the right one and James had just happened to be sleepwalking when he'd kissed her then all she would do when he saw her proof would be to smirk and laugh.

And then there was Snape.

James hated him. He'd never actually understood why. Maybe it was just his attitude. The way he slouched around everywhere and smirked like he did when he was victorious, or the way his nose twitched and James could tell he was furious....Everything about the kid made James quiver with suppressed anger. Even his hair, the way it hang around, greasy and unkempt (though James didn't have much say in matters of untidiness), his eyes, the way they darted around, calculating, dangerous, and his nose, how it curved more like an eagle's beak than like a nose...

But why did James think so much about Snape? What concern of Snape's belonged to James?

James shook it all off, just like he could always do, and kept walking. A thought suddenly came to him that was so obvious that he stopped abruptly and nearly pounded his head into the wall.

"What?" Sirius whispered behind him.

"We can't go up to Gryffindor tower." James muttered, still seething at himself.

"Why?" Lily muttered angrily.

James turned around. "Because we're all sleeping up there."

"I tried to tell you, James." Remus said, shrugging.

"So...." James continued, "Where should we stay for the night?"

"Oh...we can just go back to the room that we arrived in." Remus said.

So they trudged back to the room where they'd arrived in, stopping momentarily to wait for a couple of arguing teachers to pass. When they arrived James looked around and said, "Well, I guess we're sleeping here, right? So I'll just..." He pulled out his wand and gave it a little flick and a few puffy sleeping bags appeared and fell to the floor with a soft flump. "Alright!" James said, proud of his sleeping bags, "Snapey, my boy, you can sleep over there, at the other end of the room, and Lily, you can sleep right here next to me--"

"Frankly, Potter, I'd rather sleep next to a mule than you. It smells better." Lily said, and sat down on the nearest sleeping bag, pointing to one further away from her. Snape was already sitting down on the sleeping bag that James had pointed to. Sirius smirked at James while he sat on a sleeping bag close to him and pulled out a muggle's deck of cards and began shuffling them experimentally.

"Anyone up for a game of poker?" Sirius asked cheerfully, but shrugged as everyone else ignored him but Peter and put them away, blowing out the light as he burrowed into his sleeping bag.

Hmm....Boring...I don't know what I was talking about during that last bit. Whatever. Today, I almost got into a fight with someone.....She lies a lot, and my friends and I are just getting fed up with it....Ever meet anyone like that?