For once the common room was calm. There was an important Charms essay due the next day and all the sixth years were scattered throughout the room, hunched over their parchments, rulers in hand. Remus was sitting in his favorite armchair by the fireplace and watching owls swoop past the windows. The room was filled with the sound of scratching quills.
Slam! Sirius banged his book down on the end table with a resounding crash. Everyone jumped, and there were muffled shrieks from the girls by the window-seats. "Can you believe it?" cried Sirius, ignoring them all.
"Sirius!" Remus hissed, fumbling after the inkwell he'd dropped. "Shh!"
"She got it before us!" moaned Sirius, clutching his head. "She won! We lost!"
"Sirius, it's been two days," snapped James, who was in a bad mood. "Get over it already."
"How could she win?" said Sirius, appealing to Remus. "Why did it have to be Evans?"
"Shut up!" yelled James to the rafters.
"She's a very clever girl," murmured Remus, eyeing James uneasily. "Now hush."
But Sirius wasn't listening. "What's eating you, anyway?" he asked James, looking curious. "Snivellus insult your girl again?"
James slammed his textbook shut. "That's it," he said. "I'm going upstairs. And if you really want to know why, try the library." He grabbed his schoolbag and stormed up the dormitory steps. Every Gryffindor in the room watched him go, and when he was out of sight they all turned to stare at Sirius and Remus.
"Actually, let's," said Remus, feeling edgy under all the sudden attention. "I . . . have a book I need to check. And everyone else will get some peace and quiet," he added under his breath.
"Excellent," said Sirius, who had already picked up his things and was standing at the ready. "It isn't often he gets this annoyed. I'll have to see if I can replicate it."
Regulus was pacing frantically. "What do I do? What do I do? She wasn't supposed to figure it out! I set it up so he would! She's . . . she's a Mudblood! She's ruining everything!"
"You've said that before," said Monty. He was sitting on his bed, watching Regulus tear back and forth across the cold stone floor. "Oh, yes. I remember. Every waking moment for the past two days."
"Monty, this is important!" snapped Regulus.
"I know I'm not supposed to know anything about you setting up this treasure hunt with Elspeth Evermarsh for dark and unsavory purposes," said Monty, "but why don't you just ask her for help?"
"Elspeth is an idiot," said Regulus, pausing long enough to point an accusatory finger at Monty. "You know that."
"She's your partner," Monty pointed out.
"Only because she has all the passwords," said Regulus viciously, resuming his pacing.
"That sounds a little arrogant."
"It's the truth and you know it. Aubrey knows it. Mother knows it. I know it. The only one that doesn't know it is her."
"Really, I think you're worrying too much," said Monty, sitting back and stretching. "It'll work out, I'm sure."
"You always say things like that," said Regulus.
"And I'm always right," said Monty complacently.
"What exactly are we looking for?" asked Sirius out of the corner of his mouth, as he and Remus walked through the library doors. They stopped and scanned their surroundings. Nothing seemed particularly upsetting.
"I have no idea," Remus replied in lowered tones. "Whatever it was he must have seen it when we sent him to fetch our primary sources half an hour ago."
"What has the power to make James that emotionally tormented?" mused Sirius aloud. He began to stroll with exaggerated nonchalance past the study desks and toward the stacks. Remus fell in step with him. "Snivellus in his boxers? A ban on Quidditch? Or-" he slowed down suddenly and pointed down a dusty aisle of bookshelves- "Lily Evans talking to another boy?"
Sirius and Remus both craned to look. Indeed, there was Lily, standing with a book under one arm and another open in her hands. Leaning on the shelves beside her was a tall boy with dusty brown hair and an armful of books. They were laughing companionably.
"Poor James," said Remus.
"Who is that?" said Sirius. "I don't recognize him."
"I think his name's Tadworthy," said Remus. "First or last, I'm not sure. He's a seventh-year Ravenclaw."
"Smart?" said Sirius.
"Oh, yes."
"Charming?"
"Obviously."
"Athletic?"
"Lily says it doesn't matter."
"Good-looking?"
"Er," said Remus, reddening a little.
"Er indeed," said Sirius, looking the boy up and down. "Looks like James is in trouble."
"Er indeed?" said Remus. "What does that-" But the mysterious Tadworthy had noticed them peering down the aisle and nudged Lily, and now she was smiling at them with a superior look on her face. She beckoned to Remus.
"Resist!" hissed Sirius, but Remus was already heading down the aisle toward the pair. Cursing under his breath, Sirius followed.
"Well, well," said Lily pleasantly as they approached. "Did James send you to spy?"
"Spy?" said Remus blankly. The phrase Er indeed was echoing distractingly around his brain.
"You don't have to lie," said Lily. "I know he's jealous about the clue. He's always jealous about something."
"It's ours," growled Sirius suddenly, startling Remus back to reality. He turned and tried to shush his companion. Sirius was glaring at Lily over Remus's shoulder. "Actually, it's ours now," said Tadworthy with a grin.
"Ours?" said Remus and Sirius together, momentarily stunned.
Lily laughed. "Yes, ours," she said. "I was stumped, so I asked Tad to help. We're making great progress. We'll probably have it by tomorrow."
"But . . . but House loyalty!" cried Sirius. "He's a Ravenclaw!"
"If we win together, we'll split the spoils," said Tadworthy, with the same amused smile he'd been wearing since they first spotted him. "And if we figure it out separately, every man to himself."
"Or woman," said Lily.
"Right," said Tadworthy.
"I think I'm going to be sick," said Sirius.
"You just can't understand cooperation," said Lily.
"I can cooperate! We cooperate all the time!" said Sirius indignantly. "Don't we, Remus? We cooperate!"
"Let's go," said Remus, tugging on Sirius's sleeve. "James will be waiting." Tadworthy laughed.
"House traitor," said Sirius over his shoulder as Remus towed him away.
"Tell James I said hello!" called Lily cheerily.
"I hate Ravenclaws," said Sirius.
"I hate Ravenclaws," muttered Regulus under his breath. "Rumrunners," he said louder, and the door to the Prefect's Bath swung open. Elspeth was sitting on the edge of the tub as usual.
"Lily Evans got the clue," she said petulantly, by way of greeting. "A Mudblood!"
"I know," said Regulus wearily.
"Well, what are we going to do about it?" she demanded.
For a moment Regulus let his annoyance show, but then good breeding took over. "What are your ideas?" he said smoothly, sitting down on a marble bench by the tub.
"I . . ." She looked flummoxed. "I don't know."
"I don't either," said Regulus calmly. "We can't keep her from getting the next clue; the spells are already in place. It would be difficult to help our target along without rousing suspicion or being discovered. I think all we can do is see what happens. This is only the first clue she's found. There are three more to go before she finds the prize. Who knows if she'll even get that far?"
"So we just wait?" said Elspeth.
"Patience is key," said Regulus, with far more confidence than he felt. "I'm sure everything will turn out all right."
"Of course it will," said Elspeth, smiling now. "We can wait."
"So you saw him, did you?" said James glumly, as soon as they opened the dormitory door.
"Well, yes," admitted Remus. He looked at James warily. The anger seemed to have subsided into despondence. He was sprawled on his bed, unfinished Charms essay spread flat on his chest and quill clutched in one hand. Peter was flipping through one of the library books on his own bed.
"They're acting like they're best friends," said James mournfully.
"They're conspiring is what they're doing," said Sirius. "Your girl is a House traitor."
"I think," said Remus quickly, lest James or Sirius lose their tempers, "that we need to win the next clue."
They both stared at him. Even Peter looked up from his work.
"And how do you propose to do that?" said Sirius. "They have the clue."
"Yes," said Remus, "and we have the Map, don't we?"
There was a very thoughtful pause. "Moony, you're a genius," said James reverently.
"What?" said Peter, eyes flickering from Remus to James.
"We'll watch where they go," explained James excitedly, rolling over onto his stomach and crushing quill and parchment beneath him. "And when it looks like they're going to the clue, we'll spring out and get it first!"
"Brilliant," said Sirius.
"Thank you," said Remus modestly. "Everyone feel better now?"
"A little," Sirius admitted.
". . . No," said James, dropping his head to the duvet again. "She's getting help from another boy."
"Oh, for heaven's sake," said Remus, dropping his books on his bed.
"No worries, Jamesie!" said Sirius, bad mood evaporating as quickly as it had come. He flung himself on James's bed beside his prostrate friend. "When she sees that we're cleverer and more cooperative than any Ravenclaw bloke, she's sure to come around!"