The Ties That Bind
Chapter Sixteen: Pranks, Plans, and Plays
October 31, 1972
The first task of the tournament had ended nearly a week ago and the next task wasn't until December. However, that didn't stop James Potter from planning exactly how to win that next task, no matter what it was. He would not let Evans beat him again and he certainly wasn't going to let Snape get in his way.
James was walking down a corridor, heading away from the Transfiguration classroom. He had taken on an extra credit assignment, bound determined to beat Evans this year for top of their class. The Marauders were constantly in the Magician's Study late at night, working on homework and projects. James and Sirius especially, since they had their reputations to hold up. Quidditch practice would be starting soon and he still had to get back to the common room. He passed a darker corridor and felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle, as if he was being watched.
Then he heard the sound of a baby crying and his heart beat a little faster. He quickened his pace, nearly plowing a group of Hufflepuffs over as he raced to get into the courtyard. As soon as he was out in the bright sunlight, he paused, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. He closed his eyes. Just like last year. Halloween. What is going on? Am I just imagining these things? He thought. Once his heart rate had returned to normal, he headed to the common room, dropping off his bag.
Taking his Nimbus 1000, he headed out to the Quidditch pitch, where the rest of the team was assembled. " – and we'll go into the locker room now," Alex was saying, Quidditch captain and Seeker this year. James looked around at the other team members: Fabian Prewitt, Mark Johnson, Ryan Bell, Edgar Bones, Alex and Sirius. They had a good team and James knew that they would beat Slytherin this time. The Quidditch Cup was a sure thing.
Sirius walked over to James as they headed into the locker room. "You alright, mate?" he asked.
"Just thinking."
"Now that's scary," Sirius chuckled, nudging James. "Cheer up. We'll do a prank tonight, I've got a bag of Stink Pellets that still need to be used."
James flashed Sirius a grin, the thought of a prank immediately bringing him out of his thoughts. "Brill. I've got the perfect plan." They began to devise their prank for the night, only quieting when Alex began talking to them about plays.
The Halloween Feast was as spectacular as always, with pumpkins floating in the air above the House tables. The Marauders were grouped together at one part of the table. James sat between Sirius and Leon. Remus and Peter sat across from them. "The best part of Halloween: the food and desert," James grinned, swallowing his mouthful of roast beef. He took another spoonful of baked pumpkin.
Sirius was quickly stacking his plate with as much food as he could possibly fit on here. "They need to get bigger plates."
"With the way you eat, we need a whole table just for you," Leon laughed.
"What can I say? I'm a growing boy," Sirius grinned.
"Too true," Remus chuckled. Sirius had already surpassed all of them except Leon in height, now standing nearly 5'0".
"Now if only your brain size would increase," James smirked.
"Hey! I'll have you know that I know that Transfiguration book cover to cover," Sirius pointed out. "Besides, we all know I'm the smart one here," he smirked.
They all laughed. "The troublemaker you mean," Leon teased.
"That too," Sirius said, and they all laughed again.
Down near the end of the table, Lily sat with Jaina, Erica and a first-year named Cammille. "You were brilliant in the first event, Lily!" Cammille said with a bright smile.
Lily blushed, but smiled. "Thank you. But everyone did well and I heard you got your team out of a tight situation."
Now it was Cammille's turn to blush. "I just remembered what we learned in Charms using the Levitating Charm."
"Lily's right, Cammille, don't be so modest," Jaina grinned. "We all know I'm not."
The girls laughed. "You're the best, right Jaina?" Lily teased.
"Of course!" Jaina smirked. "No one can top Jaina Lemay."
"Now you sound like Potter," Erica said, rolling her eyes.
"Isn't that the point?" Jaina continued to smirk.
Lily smiled, watching Jaina and Erica. It had taken quite a few months and even though Jaina wasn't exactly best friends with Erica, they at least got along now. It would have been hard if they still disliked each other, with Lily caught between.
Then she suddenly realized something. Professor Flitwick had wanted to talk to her when she was finished with the feast about doing some Advanced Charm work. She had almost forgotten!
"I'll meet you back in the common room," she said, standing. "I have to go talk with Professor Flitwick."
Jaina made a face. "You are always doing work. Just have some fun, Lils."
"She's right," Erica said. "Enjoy the feast."
"There will be the Halloween party in the common room, I'll be back for that," Lily assured her friends and hurried out of the Great Hall before they could protest any further. She chuckled softly as she walked. They're great, both of them. But if I'm going to be the top, I have to keep up my studies. There is no way that James Potter will ever beat me. I don't even know why he received such high marks last term. Something is very wrong in that, she thought. So caught up in her thoughts was she, that Lily didn't realize she was in a new corridor until a chilly wind swept through, rustling her robes.
She stopped, looking around with a frown on her face. I've never seen this one… There were torches along the wall, decorated with dusty cobwebs. The end of the corridor seemed to stretch forever into the darkness, like a black hole. The chilly breeze swept through again and she rubbed her arms. Turning, she went to head out when she heard something.
You foolish girl. Get out of the way or you'll suffer the same fate as him! Then a baby was wailing and someone screamed.
Something touched Lily and she screamed, hitting whatever it was and ran. "Lily!" a voice cried. "Wait!"
But Lily didn't stop, her heart pounding, her blood chilled by the voice and the scream. She ran into something soft, bouncing back and would have fallen if the soft thing hadn't grabbed her by the arms, pulling her back to her feet.
Her vision cleared and she recognized Alex McKinnon, the Head Boy. "Lily? What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"I – something – scream –" she gasped, still trying to catch her breath and calm her racing heart.
Alex gave her a soft smile. "It's alright. Those corridors can be tricky and it is Halloween," he chuckled. "Nothing to be too alarmed about. Probably just the wind."
"Alex! Is she alright?" there was that voice again. Lily turned to see Amelia Bones running down the corridor.
"She's fine," Alex smiled. "She just got the usual Halloween scare. Nothing to be worried about."
"I heard screaming and a voice – " Lily said, still unsure as to what exactly had happened. She didn't believe it was just the wind. It couldn't have been. That's the only logical thing, she rationed. So it has to have been the wind. She frowned slightly. There was always a logical explanation. Alex is right. The wind. It was only the wind. She felt herself calming down and smiled at Amelia. "I'm okay. Really."
"Are you sure?" Amelia asked, concerned.
"Yes, yes. Thank you," Lily nodded and turned heading down the corridor, back towards the moving staircases.
Amelia looked at Alex. "With everything that's going on outside Hogwarts, we don't need things going on in here too."
"Hogwarts is the safest place for everyone," Alex said. "Besides, we don't know for sure what is exactly happening out there. Yes, there were Muggle killings and unexplained events. But that was months ago. Let's just worry about doing our Head duties and we'll talk later, once we have Frank and Edgar. They might know something, especially Frank. He did do that summer program with the Aurors."
Amelia frowned. "Alex, you know that I agree that our Head duties our priority, but you never put off those killings like this. What's wrong?"
Alex ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't very well lie to Amelia. She was one of his closer friends, other than Frank and Edgar. "My father is just being stricter; telling me there's nothing to worry about and that I shouldn't be thinking about Voldemort."
"But he works in the Department of Mysteries, he should know something."
"Exactly, but he won't listen. I'm of age now, but he still treats me like a child. I thought making Head Boy would help, but he's been more aloof than usual. He rarely comes home and when he does, it's the middle of the night. I want to know what's keeping him at work so long, but he refuses to tell me anything."
"And you believe that Voldemort was behind those attacks and will be behind more?"
"Yes," Alex nodded. "Frank thinks so too."
Amelia pursed her lips, thinking. "I don't know what to tell you."
"What do you believe?"
"I think that we should be careful and not push aside things that happen. If something happens again like the war with Grindelwald, we need to be prepared."
"We have Dumbledore. He won't keep us in the dark if there's a real threat."
"I only hope that this is just Dark Wizards and not something worse," Amelia sighed.
"I feel the same."
November 5, 1972
The day of the first Quidditch match dawned bright and sunny, without a cloud in the sky. Tension was high for the highly anticipated Slytherin vs. Gryffindor match that afternoon. Would James and Sirius really be the dream team they claimed to be? Would Gryffindor finally beat Slytherin at Quidditch? The Great Hall was abuzz with questions such as these and in the center, James and Sirius sat, confident as ever.
"There's no way Slytherin can beat us," James said arrogantly. "We're by far the best and we've got an unbeatable team."
"The Dream Team," Sirius smirked. "First stop, Quidditch Cup, second, world domination."
"Don't forget a stop for Madame Rosmerta and butterbeer," James added.
The Marauders laughed. "Always so confident," Leon teased.
"But of course."
"You've watched our practices," James pointed out. "You know how good we are. The problem with all the Slytherin Chasers is that they're too big. Too much brawn, too little brain. Between me, Fabian and Mark, we'll leave them in the dust."
"You've got a point," Leon smiled.
"Haven't I always?" James said, smiling.
Leon rolled his eyes, shaking his head. He laughed. "I swear, if you got any cockier your head wouldn't be able to fit through the door way."
James eyes widened and he turned away in protest. "For your information, heads don't grow that large."
"They grow that large if you charm them." James didn't say anything. "James, I was joking."
"I was serious." Sirius, Peter and Remus watched this with humor.
Leon owned upon seeing James, whose back was turned to him, start shaking. He grew slightly worried. Did I actually hurt his feelings? "James?" Leon said carefully, placing his hand on James's shoulder. Suddenly James grabbed Leon, turning around, nearly pulling Leon off the bench. James let go, doubling over in laughter at Leon's gobsmacked expression. "Bloody hell! What'd you do that for?"
"Your – your face," James managed between his laughter. "Ow," he said, holding his sides.
"He got you good," Sirius grinned and laughed.
"Spot on," Remus agreed with a smile of his own.
Leon took a deep breath. "That wasn't funny."
"The look on your face was." That sent James into a new fit of laughter, along with the rest of the Marauders.
"You prat," Leon said, trying to keep an angry face, but soon he burst into a fit of laughter. James tried to take deep breaths, but every time he did, he'd start laughing again. Leon, putting a hand down the table, took a deep breath. "Breathe, James." James whose face was now bright red, straightened up. He took in a deep breath and then fell into another fit of laughter.
"You're hopeless," Leon rolled his eyes, chuckling.
James and Sirius headed towards the pitch, since the team had to be there early. As they were turning the corner of the corridor, they heard an all too familiar voice.
" – and Gryffindor thinks they can win? Just because they have Potter and Black? I highly doubt it," Severus was saying.
James held back Sirius, smirking, keeping them in the shadows. He pulled out his wand.
"Gryffindor can't beat Slytherin, plain and simple," Christina Sanderlin sneered.
"Potter and Black think they're unbeatable. Just wait until the match," Evan Rosier said, smirking.
"We'll show them who the better Quidditch team is," Christina said.
"It will be rather amusing to see them fall flat on their faces," Severus said coolly.
James whispered a slightly advanced levitating charm that he had taught himself from a book in the Magician's Study. Soon Severus was flat on his face. James and Sirius snickered, moving out of the shadows.
"Keep your nose to the ground where it belongs, Snivellus," James said cruelly.
"Bow down before your superiors," Sirius sneered.
"Leave him alone," Christina snapped.
"You have girls defending you now, Snivellus? How pathetic," James said coldly, kicking Severus when he tried to get to his feet.
Severus whipped out his wand, pointing it at James. His dark eyes were cold and full of hate. "You just wait until the match, Potter. You'll see who the better team is. I'd curse you where you stand if there wasn't a Professor walking over here."
James just smirked. "You wouldn't have the guts."
"Is there a problem?" came Professor Moody's voice from behind them.
James turned and looked at Moody, putting a smile on his face. "Of course not, Professor. Just having a friendly chat."
Severus growled in disgust but said, "No problem, Professor." The Slytherins sulked away and Moody turned to James and Sirius. He eyed them each in turn.
"I trust you wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize you playing in the match today," Moody said.
"Of course not, Professor," Sirius said. "We were just heading to the pitch when we saw Sni – Severus. Friendly house rivalry."
"House rivalry should not be a concern. How you treat your fellow students is. Now get to the match, I want to see if you two have what it takes to pull Gryffindor into the lead," Moody smiled just a little and turned, walking away.
As soon as Moody left, James and Sirius turned to each other, smirking. "We'll get old Snivelly back after that match," James said.
"You bet we will," Sirius said and they headed down the corridor.
The Gryffindor Quidditch team stood in their locker room, pulling on their robes and getting ready for the match. James and Sirius were standing over near their lockers, already garbed in their robes and presently pulling on their gear. Alex walked over to them, already ready. "You two blokes ready for the match of the year?" Alex grinned.
James ran his hand through his hair, making it even messier and adjusted his glasses. "Of course we are," he smirked. "We've got this match easy."
Sirius picked up his bat, holding it over his shoulder. "Piece of cake," he flashed a confident grin.
"If only the rest of Gryffindor shared your confidence," Alex chuckled. "We haven't won the Cup in years."
"You've got us on your team, mate," James winked. "We'll win for sure."
Alex began to say something but a whistle was blown, signaling the teams to assemble out on the pitch. "Alright, team," Alex said louder, looking around at his team. "Be careful out there but win. Gryffindor will receive that Cup this year!" The team hollered and clapped. Their excitement and energy was high as they moved out to the pitch, mounting their brooms and taking off, making a large circle.
"Welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season!" Alan Mowbery's voice came from the announcer's podium. "Today's match, Slytherin vs. Gryffindor!" The students cheered and whistled. "We've got quite the match here, what with Rudolphus Lestrange as Slytherin Captain and Alex McKinnon as Gryffindor Captain! That Slytherin team is unmatched and hasn't been beaten yet, but could Gryffindor pull a win this time? We will see! And the Quaffle is released!"
Down in the stands, Remus, Leon and Peter stood, watching the match, cheering on their team. "Come on James!" Leon yelled.
"James Potter has the Quaffle! He passes to Johnson, who passes to Bell, and back to Potter and oh, so close! They almost had that!"
"Silly game," Lily said, watching as the teams flew around the pitch, darting after the Quaffle and trying to score.
"Oh, don't be such a spoil sport, this is fun!" Jaina nudged Lily.
"For you. I don't like this game, I don't see the point," Lily crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"The point is to win!"
"Slytherin is winning," Lily pointed out as Slytherin scored a goal.
"So what, we've got James and Sirius out there! We'll win for sure!"
Lily shrugged and leaned on the ledge, watching the match.
Up in the air, things were not so carefree and there was little talking. As the match continued, James was beginning to grow frustrated. They would win, there was no doubt about it. Not if he had anything to say about it. He glanced around and saw Alex searching for the snitch and calling out plays. However, they still hadn't scored and James was about to change that. Even if Alex got mad, he didn't care at that point. He knew what play to do and he was going to do it. "Sirius!" he yelled, motioning for Sirius to cover him.
Without a word, Sirius nodded, knocking a Bludger away from James and heading after his best friend as they raced down the pitch. "Johnson! Bell!" James yelled. As he passed Alex, he yelled, "I've got a plan!"
"Go for it!" Alex shouted back, open to anything at that point.
James nodded and raced after the Slytherin Chaser, Wilkes, who currently had the Quaffle. "Sirius, go!" James called back. Sirius smashed a Bludger right at Wilkes, making him swerve just a little. James took his opportunity and elbowed the sixth-year hard, hitting at just the right place (a trick his father had taught him), which loosened Wilkes' grip just enough to allow James to snatch the Quaffle.
He passed it to Bell as they neared the goal. Bell threw the Quaffle back to James, who feinted a hard left, throwing the Quaffle to Johnson, who at the last moment, as the Slytherin Keeper Hastings went to block him, passed the Quaffle to James. James hurled the Quaffle through the golden hoops, scoring the first points for Gryffindor
The Gryffindors went wild, yelling, screaming and cheering. James flashed his team mates a confident grin and knew he was back in his element. They had this match won.
As the match progressed, Sirius continued to beat Bludgers away from the Chasers and Alex, and Gryffindor continued to score. Slytherin managed a few more goals, but at the speed that the Gryffindor Chasers were going, there was no stopping them.
Soon it was down to the wire. Both teams were tied at 70 points each.
"What if Slytherin gets the Snitch!" Peter cried worriedly.
"Stay optimistic, Peter," Remus placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go, Gryffindor, win!" he yelled.
Leon was just about ready to jump out of the stands, he was so tense and excited at the same time. "GO JAMES!" he yelled as James suddenly sped off towards the goals, Quaffle tucked under his arm. At the same time, Alex and the Slytherin Seeker, Rabastan Lestrange, took a nose dive, going after the Snitch.
"I can't watch!" Peter covered his eyes with his hands.
Jaina was about to take someone out if Gryffindor didn't win, having already climbed up on the ledge and shouting. "GET THAT SNITCH MCKINNON! JAMES POTTER YOU BETTER NOT LOSE THAT QUAFFLE!"
James tuned out everything around him, focusing on that goal and the presence of five Chasers around him. Rudolphus went for James, but being smaller, James did a quick turn, catching the larger Slytherin off guard. James took his chance, passing the Quaffle. Sirius and Edgar were beating away the Bludgers and Sirius saw his chance when Dawn was caught up in blocking. Sirius sent a Quaffle hurtling towards the Keeper, not to hit her, but only to distract her. It did the trick. The split second she moved to not get hit by the speeding Bludger, Mark Johnson scored for Gryffindor.
Now all they had to do was play keep away from Slytherin. That was the fun part.
They managed to keep the Quaffle away from Slytherin just long enough as the whistle was blown. James pulled to a stop, catching a breather.
"Alex McKinnon has caught the golden snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Alan shouted over the speaker. Thunderous applause and cheering erupted from the Gryffindor stands as well as Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
James let out a loud yell, slapping Sirius a high-five. "The Dream Team strikes back!" James grinned.
"Gryffindor has made the come back," Sirius grinned in return. The teams headed back down to the pitch and into their respective locker rooms.
After showering, James and Sirius chatted as they sat on a bench, cleaning their brooms. Alex walked over to them and they both looked up at him.
"That was some fancy flying, James," Alex complimented with a huge grin on his face.
"Not so bad yourself, Alex," James replied.
"Where'd you learn some of those moves?"
"That would be my father, Bryon Potter."
"The Bryon Potter?" Alex's eyebrows rose.
"But of course."
"Your father was a smashing Quidditch player! I've heard so many stories about the plays he could pull."
"Sounds like my dad."
"Bryon taught James all he knows," Sirius chuckled. "And me."
"Brilliant. We'll win that Cup for sure," Alex smiled widely.
"Did you ever have the doubt we wouldn't?" James laughed.
"I'll know better next time," Alex laughed. "Get yourselves ready, we're going to have quite the party in the common room tonight." Alex headed away and James grinned at Sirius.
"It pays to have the Head Boy as Quidditch Captain," James said.
"Definitely," Sirius laughed.
They finished taking care of their brooms and then put them away safely in their lockers. Heading out, they began walking up the grassy slope to the castle. "I hope it snows soon," Sirius said as they walked. "There are plenty of pranks we can pull, especially with your cloak."
James chuckled. "Oh yes. But we also have finals coming up." A determined look appeared on James' face. "I will beat Evans and it will be very satisfying."
"I have no doubt of that."
James nudged Sirius, suddenly stopping. "Look at who we have here, old Snivelly," James sneered, watching as Severus hurried towards the castle.
"Oh no you don't," Sirius said, moving quickly and shoving Severus up against the stone wall. "Hello, Snivellus," Sirius smirked.
Severus went for his wand but James was quicker, grabbing his wand. "Tsk tsk, Snivellus. Don't you know playing with wands is dangerous?" James smirked as well. This will be fun.
"James, Sirius, what are you doing?"
James and Sirius both looked over to see Leon rushing over to them. "Just having a little fun here with our friend," Sirius chuckled.
"Thought we'd teach him a lesson about manners," James said, looking at Severus with a cold look in his eyes.
"Learn some yourself," Severus retorted.
"Oh, it bites back. What are you going to do now, Snivellus? Try to stare us to death?" James taunted.
"He can't even fight back," Sirius snickered as Severus tried to free himself from Sirius' grip.
"By the way, Snivellus, what was that about showing who the better Quidditch team was?" James asked smugly.
"Sod off, Potter," Severus spat.
"Nasty nasty," James shook his head. "I think you really should learn some manners." He smirked and pointed his wand at Severus.
"James! Stop." Leon said, pushing down James' wand.
"What's the big idea?" James snapped, glaring at Leon.
"Don't lower yourself to his level." Leon looked right back at James, not at all intimidated.
There was a battle of wills as the two best friends faced off but finally James just rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He put his wand back into his robe. "You're not worth it, Snivellus." James walked away, dropping Severus' wand on the ground. Leon left, walking back into the castle.
Sirius let go of Snape, turning to go. He began walking away just as Snape reached for his wand. At the last minute, Sirius turned around and punched Snape in the face. "Too slow, Snivellus," Sirius smirked and walked off, leaving Snape on the ground, his hands
November 25, 1972
The date of the second event of the Triathlon was drawing closer and so were finals. The Marauders spent every moment they could in the Magician's Study, getting ready. Along with their studies, they were studying everything they could find on Animagi. The announcement would be made soon as to what the second event was, and then James would be fully prepared to win. Pranks were still pulled, dungbombs thrown at Mrs. Norris and other Slytherin pests.
One afternoon, James and Sirius were playing a game of wizards chess over in a corner of the common room. Lily sat in a chair, a fat book in her lap. It was a slightly more advanced book on the Dark Arts and dark creatures. Professor Moody had given them all an extra credit opportunity and of course Lily had snatched it up. She glanced over at James and Sirius and sighed. How can they be so relaxed when there's so much work to be done and with finals coming up! She turned her attention back to her book. Jaina was off with Fabian Prewitt, Sturgis Podmore and her brother Jacen for the afternoon, so Lily had decided to finally get work done. Erica was working on extra credit for Potions. They all needed that, with the way Professor Haspon was. I wish Professor Sheridan would get back. I miss her.
James looked at Sirius after he made his move. "Potions was bloody horrible today," he said, sitting back and waiting for Sirius to go. "What is it that Professor Haspon has against us? First we can't do anything right, then he goes and gives points to some dolt that doesn't know a thing about Potions."
"Well, Potions isn't exactly your strong point," Sirius said. "Knight to D4."
"So?" James looked at the board. "Queen to B5. It's not like you're doing any better."
"What are you two arguing about now?" Remus teased, walking over and taking a seat next to them. Peter and Leon were soon to follow.
"Potions," Sirius said. "Queen's side Castle to A3."
"That seems to be the topic of conversation lately," Leon said.
"Well look at what he's doing to us," James protested. "I won't do half as good as the other students just because he's against Gryffindors."
"You'll still to better than most," Peter pointed out.
"Doesn't matter. Why can't Professor Sheridan just come back?"
"She had been gone for an awfully long time," Sirius commented. "Knight to A3."
"She is an Auror, she's probably busy," Remus said, continuing to watch the two play.
"What with Voldemort, I'm sure," James said.
"So you really think he was behind those attacks during the summer?" Peter asked, wide-eyed.
"Who else. My dad wouldn't be worried for no reason," James did a few quick moves. "Checkmate," he smirked.
Sirius looked down. "Damn," he cursed. "Beaten again by a Potter."
"Just admit it, Sirius, you'll never beat me," James grinned.
"Someday," Sirius chuckled and they all laughed.
"Not in the near future." James looked around at them. "Anyone up for a night run to Hogsmeade?" he grinned. He needed a break from school and from anything to do with books. They had been studying every night and they deserved a night off.
Remus shook his head. "Not tonight." He gave them a weak smile.
"Oh right, bloody hell, didn't even think. Sorry Remus," James apologized.
"Its fine," Remus stood. "I'd better get to the hospital wing. Bring me back something from Hogsmeade."
"You got it," Leon said with a smile, watching as Remus headed out of the common room.
Lily was watching as well and frowned slightly. He's going to the hospital wing, again? Then she thought of something and put her book into her bag, heading out after Remus.
That evening, Lily sat in the library, looking through a book on nocturnal dark creatures. She had come to the chapter on werewolves and began reading. Then she sat back. "The monthly sicknesses…" she mused quietly. "His paleness, always at this time …."
It hit her like a ton of bricks.
That was it. Remus was a werewolf.
"Merlin's beard," she whispered. She looked back at the book and then at nothing in particular. She was still so stunned that when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she nearly screamed.
"Whoa, sorry," a voice said. Lily turned to see Andromeda standing there, chuckling. "Didn't mean to scare you."
"It's fine," Lily said, smiling, calming her racing heart down. She shut the book. "Just doing some nightly reading."
"It seems you and me are the ones that live here," Andromeda laughed, taking a seat. "So how have your classes been going?"
"Tough. Potions isn't helping me keep top grades. I think that'll be the only class I do horrible in."
Andromeda pretended to look shocked. "Lily Evans? Not top? Never." Both girls laughed. "Here, how about I help you, since I'm pretty good at Potions. And you help me in Charms."
"That would be brilliant, thank you!" Lily smiled with obvious relief.
"Let's hit the books, shall we?" Andromeda said with a smile.
"As long as they don't hit back."
They laughed. "That would be bad." The girls turned to their books and began studying.
Later, after their night raid of Hogsmeade, talking with Madame Rosmerta, Sirius came back to his room to find a letter waiting for him. He frowned, taking a seat and munching on a Honeydukes chocolate while opening it up. It was from his father.
As soon as he finished reading it, he cursed, crumpling the paper into a ball and throwing it at the wall. James was busy hiding the sweets in his trunk but stopped when he heard Sirius curse. "What's wrong, mate?" James asked, walking over and leaning against Sirius' bedpost.
"I got a letter from my father," Sirius said bitterly.
"What about?" Leon asked, taking a seat on Sirius' bed. Peter sat down on Sirius' trunk, looking at him.
"Christmas Holidays. I was told to stay away this Christmas basically and that they don't want me there."
James arched an eyebrow. "But isn't that good news? You can stay with me."
"That's not the point," Sirius sighed. "I'm worried about Narcissa."
"What's wrong with her?" Peter asked.
"She was so cold to me last Christmas and during the summer she barely spoke to me. She's like a little sister to me, I don't want them turning her into another Bellatrix or Regulus."
"We have the cloak, mate," James assured him. "We can go there and see if you can't talk to her. That way your parents wouldn't know."
"Aunt Elladora will be there. She's nutters, more so than my mother, which is saying quite a lot. I don't want to run into her."
"Since when have you been worried about getting caught?" Leon asked.
"True." Sirius mused for a few moments. "Let's do it."
James smiled. "It'll be alright, Sirius. You know we're always here for you."
Sirius smiled up at his best friend. "Thanks James."
"Anytime. Now let's get to bed. We've got Quidditch practice at dawn."
Sirius groaned. "Don't remind me."
"I'll enjoy my nice comfy warm bed while you two are slaving away in the cold morning," Leon teased, walking to his own bed.
"Bugger off, Leon," Sirius said, throwing a pillow and hitting Leon in the back.
Leon just grinned back at him. "Nice warm breakfast too." A pillow hit Leon square in the face this time. Leon just laughed, changing into his pajamas and climbing into bed. "Night."
Soon after, a chorus of "Night" filled the dorm until it was silent again. Sirius lay awake staring at the ceiling for a long time before finally drifting off to sleep.