I do not own anything that somebody else owns.
Chapter 27: James Speaks
Just do it… he told himself repeatedly. Just reach out and grab it… Amazing how much more difficult it was to extend his arm twelve inches and touch her hand than to snatch a speeding Snitch from midair…
"James, are you all right?" asked Lily. "You look…odd."
To the surprise of passersby hurrying down the corridors, Lily and James had been ambling throughout all of Hogwarts the entire morning, which was Christmas Eve. Instead of James strutting through the halls, just begging for trouble, he had been quite civil and un-egotistical. He never ruffled his hair, nor talked about himself (too often). It was just a pleasant James and a once-shocked Lily, though it soon registered in her mind, strolling down the halls together, talking about nothing and everything.
Before James could answer Lily's comment, a greasy-haired boy walking towards the two interrupted their tranquil moment. Snape stopped abruptly at the sight of James. He pulled out his wand. James cast a sideways glance at Lily, then did nothing. Oddly, Snape said not a word, but started to wave his wand around in midair. Flames of green in the shapes of words appeared before their eyes:
Take this curse off now, Potter… You promised.
James allowed a smug smirk creep onto his face. However, Lily turned towards James and raised her eyebrows. Sighing, James pulled out his wand. Hopefully, this'll get me extra Lily bonus points, he thought downheartedly as he spoke the countercurse to Snape's Mime Hex. Snape sneered and cleared his throat, but not before Lily and James turned away from him and started to walk the opposite direction.
"I don't know which one to feel worse for, the Mudblood or Potter," snickered Snape as he walked up to the two Gryffindors.
Lily rounded on him while James stood completely still and rooted to the spot. "Is your life really that pathetic that you have to take it out on other people? Honestly…" shouted Lily, acting rather cool towards the Slytherin. His eyebrows rose so high that they disappeared behind his greasy bangs.
"Don't you usually save that anger for Potter?" Snape carried on with an amused face. Lily's eyes flickered over to James, who still hadn't reacted to Snape's speech, other than staying completely quiet. "Ah…" said Snape knowingly. "He's gotten to you, then? Tell me, Evans, did he whisper sweet, endearing words of love into your ear? Did he say that you were the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on? Well, I'll give you a hint, Evans. James can slither his way out of anything, can lie his way out of anything…. Think about it." Snape started to walk past them, a malice grin across his face. It was then that James spoke.
"I want you to follow this rules in their exact order, Snivellus," said James callously, pronouncing ever word with a slow and purposeful air. He still hadn't turned around. "I want you to stick your head in a cold bucket of water ten times… and, doing us all a favour, pull it out only nine times."
"Reducto" yelled an infuriated Snape, pointing his wand at James's back. The magic slammed into the Marauder's back, causing him to fly through the air and crash into one of the corridor's walls. His chest made a sickening crunch as it made a painful contact with the wall.
Lily rounded on Snape, who was standing complacently with his arms folded over his chest. A fire burned in Lily's eyes. "What is your problem?" Snape eyes widened as Lily screeched. "You can't even take a verbal insult without having to resort to violence." She, surprising even herself, rushed over to James and helped him stand up. It seemed as if he had broken a rib bone. Glaring, the girl prefect looked at Snape one last time before they left, "And I'll take ten points from Slytherin for magic in the corridors."
"So, Prongs, how come you're mended in five minutes, and I had to stay the entire night?" asked Sirius, giving a pathetic pout.
"I keep on telling you, Padfoot," said James, smiling, "I'm just more special than you are."
Sirius stuck his tongue out at his friend.
They were both sitting on opposite Hospital Wing beds. Sirius had been forced to stay over night while his leg was mending, because it was already so late in the night. James, on the other hand, had his ribcage broken in two places, and was mended within ten minutes, ready to go.
"I still say that you two are both nutters," commented Remus, who had just entered the wing. He leaned causally against a wall, shaking his head at the other two Marauders.
"Aw, did you miss me, ole Moony?" asked Sirius, his voice sounding oddly like a little girl's tone. "Were you lonely in the dormitory without me?"
Placidly, Remus took a pillow from a nearby bed, fluffed it up a bit, and chucked it at Sirius.
"I think that answers your question," Lily pointed out from beside James's bed. She had let James lean on her while she helped him to the Hospital Wing, and had decided to stay there. Part of her wished she hadn't, for being in the same room as the Marauders was dangerous to one's health and sanity.
Hermione walked through the doors of the Hospital Wing with a smile on her face, only to be replaced by a surprised look caused by the sight of Remus, James, and Lily. She hadn't expected them to be here, especially the latter of the three. "Lily! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.
"I broke my ribs," answered James before Lily had the chance to open her mouth. "So I needed help getting here."
"How did you manage to break your ribs?" Hermione asked.
"Long story involving Snivellus," sighed James. At his answer, Hermione cast her eyes over to Lily. The redhead held no sign of annoyance at his comment. "What are you doing here?" asked James, repeating Hermione's own words and directing them at her.
Hermione flushed. "I came to check on how Sirius was doing." Out of the corner of her eyes while she kept her focus on James's hair, Hermione saw Sirius's chest puff out.
James noticed this too. He also noticed Hermione's increasing blush. James frowned. "Er, Hermione? Can I have a word with you?" He paused. This was everyone else's clue to leave.
Lily got the hint at once. She mumbled something about Christmas decorations and sped out of the Hospital, glancing back at Hermione. Remus, too, understood, and turned to leave. But noticing that Sirius hadn't moved an inch, he spun around back to his friend.
"Let's get you out of here, Padfoot, before you burn someone else's bed, hm?" said Remus with a laugh.
"What can Prongsie say to Hermione that we can't hear?" asked Sirius stubbornly, though the effect was lost as his voice cracked. Lately it had been doing that…
"The list is endless," snapped Remus. "Now, come on, Siri. I'll recite it while we walk to the Great Hall." Sirius still didn't move. Remus's eyes flickered over to James and Hermione for a moment before settling back on Sirius. "Sirius. Let's go." His voice was stern and solid, as if a parent scolding a child. Sirius raised his eyebrows at James and Hermione as he left the Hospital Wing with Remus. "And don't you dare even think of cursing Snivellus on our way," came Remus's snap as they walked down the corridor.
Hermione stared after the two as they left before finally returning her gaze to James. "What is it, James?" she asked innocently. She waited.
James didn't know Hermione all that well, to say the truth. He didn't know much about her. Sure, he knew that she had a strong relationship with Harry and she was from the future. He also knew that she was book-smart and could hold her own. But that is basic stuff one could learn by looking at her. Interestingly enough, Hermione had a thing for Sirius… or was it Remus? And that is what he wanted to talk about.
"Hermione," started James, but he faltered. "Can I call you Mione?"
Hermione looked taken aback. "If you want…"
"Okay, then. Mione. As I'm sure you know, I have been friends with Sirius and Remus for quite a long time. Ever since the middle of our first year. Now, Sirius and I didn't get along at first because of our families. I'm sure you know that Sirius came from a… darker family, and my relatives were all chummy with Dumbledore. Finally, Remus knocked some sense into us, mostly because he was tired of our barking, but also because he could sense that out fighting was not in our hearts. Meaning, we were fighting because it was engraved on the inside of our heads to dislike each other… So, Mione, around Christmas of our second year, Remus, Peter, Sirius, and I were the closest group of friends, since we had just found out about Remus's… condition and had decided to… help him."
James stood up from his spot on his bed and started to stroll towards the door. Hermione followed him, peaked with interest. James continued. "By our third year, Mione, we had become the Marauders. Everyone in school knew our close-knit group. Each of the Marauders would cover the others' back. There were many times when Remus would whip up a story from thin air that would get us out of detention. Sirius would ahem 'charm' his way out of trouble. Peter, well, Peter would say he tripped and would make anything look like an accident. I would just plain out wit my way through our predicaments."
"Must've been very nice," said Hermione, smiling.
"And it was," said James, ignoring her sarcastic chortle. "Now, Mione, you must understand that we are very loyal to each other. We always run to fend off any sort of thing that endangers any one of us, physically, mentally,… emotionally." Hermione knew where this was going, but decided not to interrupt. James stopped talking and walking, looking at Hermione. "Well? Aren't you going to interrupt?" obedient
Hermione looked a little shocked. "I was going to, but I decided to be polite."
James just laughed, and kept walking down the corridor. He wasn't really heading towards anywhere, just wandering. "You're a nice girl, Mione. Very nice…" he grumbled edgily. "Peter is the enthusiastic follower. I am the oh-so-talented one. Remus is the wicked smart one. And Sirius was always the 'charmer' (more like 'hexer' when it comes to Slytherins), or the lady's man… Now as I understand it, two of my best mates fancy you. And from what I've seen, you seem to fancy…one of them?" Hermione fidgeted. "Now, if the circumstances were different, I'd be more than willing to help you two together, no matter who it be. But since you aren't going to stay here for long…" James sighed. He stopped his footsteps again and turned to Hermione. She did the same. "Mione, I don't want to see my friends hurt more than is necessary. They've been through more things than they really should at their age. You can't leave them with a broken heart."
Hermione didn't know how to answer him. She was at a loss for words, which surprised her. For one reason, she was not used to being "lectured" by anyone, really. Hermione was usually the one that would go off on a tirade. Second reason: During every single inner battle Hermione held in her mind, she never really thought of all the repercussions, the impact her actions would have on the Sirius or Remus of this time.
"Think this over, would you?" said James quietly, making sure not to startle Hermione, who looked hypnotized with a suit of armour across the hall. Hermione nodded numbly, blinked a few times, and regained focus once again. She looked upon him with expectancy. "Er—That's all I have to say on the subject." Again, Hermione nodded. They continued to walk, this time in silence.
After a while, Hermione began to speak. "Something has been buzzing in the back of my mind for the past few days. And since we're talking here… Has Harry told you anything about Lily?" She stared at him with the air of a businesswoman, her eyebrows slightly peaked with questioning.
"What do you mean?" asked James slowly, acting as if he was clueless.
Hermione just laughed. "Like father like son. Harry was never good at lying to me either."
James held himself like a father who was proud of his son before answering Hermione. "Well, Harry didn't tell me anything exactly. I sort of figured it out for myself. He just told me if I was right or wrong. In this case, I was right." He fidgeted all through his explanation. From what he had seen and heard, this girl standing next to him was quite the rule-follower. But Hermione didn't explode. Instead, she continued in a quite whisper.
"I assume we are talking about the same thing, right? About yours and Lily's marriage?"
James's eyes widened in surprise. "What?" he cried out, sounding flabbergasted. "OUR WHAT!"
Hermione's eyes widened, though hers was caused by shock. "You mean… you didn't know!" she asked hurriedly. "Oh my gosh… I just told you something that you shouldn't know… oh! What am I going to do?" She gasped for air for another rant, but was stopped by James's laughing.
"Wow, you really are a sucker for jokes," James managed to say through his gales of laughter. He wiped a tear from his eye. "Ah, that was good. Oh, don't give me that look. You should've seen your face—your eyes looked as if they'd pop right out of your face."
Hermione let out a miniscule chuckle, not feeling so amused. "That was not funny."
"Lighten up, Mione," James said, nudging her. They started walking again.
"I'm sorry," she said moments later. "It's just that I'm really tense about this whole trip. It could be life-altering, couldn't it?" She let out a deep, solid breath of air. "I'm almost afraid to go back." She had only spoken her fears to Harry and Ron. Telling James this was a big step. But Harry was right: his father was a great guy.
James glanced sideways at her. He saw true worry in her eyes for the first time. To comfort her, he laid his arm over her shoulder and said soothingly, "It'll all be fine in the end. I promise."
He had no idea how much that promise hurt Hermione.
Sirius was jumping up and down in front of James, repeating, "So, Prongsie, did she say anything about me?" James shoved his friend aside so he could enter their dormitory. Sirius went in, trotting after his friend. "Huh? Huh? Huh? Did she? Did she? Did she?" He hovered around James like a hungry puppy while James was trying to retrieve a book from his side of the room. "Get out of it!" James growled. "And it's none of your business what we talked about."
Sirius stopped. "Hm… something secret, then. …You didn't…. you wouldn't… set her against me, would you?" He looked carefully at his friend.
"Truthfully?" James asked, his desired book in his hand.
"I always hate it when people ask if they have the permission to be truthful," grumbled Sirius, though his voice kept cracking. After he coughed, he growled, "Of course!"
"I just don't want to see you get hurt, Padfoot. You or Moony." He walked past Sirius to the door. "I'll be with Thewler in the meantime—"
"What about Evans?" asked Sirius abruptly, all traces of his eager-like qualities gone. James stopped walking.
"What about her?" he asked slowly.
"What is going on between you two?" Sirius asked. "There is obviously something you did, or she did, that made her change her mind about you. I'm not blind, Potter." Using surnames told James that Sirius meant business.
"Well, you know how we finally got free of that Pinocchio Curse?" James said and his friend nodded. "That was because of me." Sirius raised his eyebrows. James sat down on a nearby bed. "I told Lily that day, while we were sitting by the fire, that she was the most beautiful girl I've ever met. I described every single detail about her that I admired. And since she could tell when I was lying because of my Pinocchio nose, she knew it was all true. By the time I finished… she had tears forming in her eyes. And it was when I was wiping those tears away… she took off the curse." He looked up at Sirius with a dazed grin. "So then after that, we just strolled through the corridors, just talking. Padfoot, it was one of the greatest moments in my entire life."
Sirius smiled. "Well, it's about time she realized you had some good in you. Took her long enough…"
James mumbled a "yeah" in agreement before walking towards the door. Before leaving, he turned to his friend with a grin. "You might want to ask Madam Pomfrey to clear up that throat of yours, seeing as it's jumping pitches like a toad." He ducked, narrowly missing a pillow Sirius had thrown at him. "See you later, Padfoot." He walked through the doorway.
"Yeah, later," James heard in reply as he walked down the stairs. He had a huge wave of guilt for not telling Sirius about the wedding James and Lily would have in the future. James couldn't keep something like that from the Marauders. It's not like they won't find out. They always managed to somehow…
An earsplitting yell: "THEWLER!"
A not-amused hiss: "Shh!"
A singsong voice: "OOHHH THEWLER!"
An aggravated hiss: "Shhh"
An Old English female accent: "WHERE FOR ART THOU, THEWLER?"
"Would you please shut up, Mr. Potter?"
"Oh, Madam Pince. Sorry, didn't see you there."
"This is a library, Potter. I expect you to obey the rules."
James smiled cheekily at the librarian. "But I wasn't in the library. I was just outside it in the corridor."
"And you were purposefully yelling into it!" Madam Pince huffed. "You were deliberately distracting students from their studies." James looked past the puffed up librarian to look inside. All he saw were rows and rows full of books and empty of teenagers. Harry was gathering his things in the corner, and a couple of third years were floating a feather in midair by breathing underneath it.
"I see," James said sarcastically. Madam Pince looked behind her, huffed once more, looking like a thoroughly bothered chicken, before returning to her desk. "All right, Thewler?" James asked as Harry approached, a grin shining from his face as he spoke.
Harry shrugged. "Been better," he said casually, though still amused with his father's episode with the librarian. "Did you manage to get the book?" he asked James excitedly. The Marauder nodded his head.
"I don't think Sirius saw the exact book, but he saw me take it out," James said.
"When does it say the potion will be done?" asked Harry.
James opened up the book and quickly flipped through the old pages. "It should be ready for tomorrow morning!"
"It took long enough," Harry said exasperatedly, but feeling ecstatic all the same. "We've been planning this since that last Hogsmeade trip."
"Just think of it," James said, his eyes becoming hazy. "Our first father-son prank… Well, probably not for you, but this is a historical moment for me." Harry laughed along, though the comment left a sting in his heart. Both Potters strolled out of the corridor and headed up the nearby staircase.
"Father-son?" came a quiet, greasy voice from a statue, followed by a greasy-haired boy. Snape gazed after the retreating James and Harry with an intrigued look. "Oh, Potter, you make this too easy…" Snape cackled to himself as he crept down the opposite hall, hands in his pockets and eyes glowing with a vengeful fire.
"OY! Lily! Hermione! Come and join the fun, won't you?" called out Sirius from his spot by the fireplace. (His voice cracked again—that frog would not leave.) It was nighttime for Hogwarts. James and Sirius had just returned from the detention with Professor Smirch, and they were ready for some quality Marauder Time. Thus, all four Gryffindor boys were seated in a circle by their favourite fireplace. James was leaning against the foot of a couch, his hair as wild as ever. Looking like a child ready for story time, Remus was sitting with his legs crossed and hands folded before him. Harry was lying on his stomach, scratching his head in an irritated sort of way. Leaning against the wall, Sirius had one leg tucked up to his chest, and the other lying lazy before him. He had looked up at the sound of the portrait opening and called the girls over.
Lily and Hermione hesitated before walking over to the boys. "What are you boys up to?" asked Lily curiously.
Sirius acted offended. "Why, Evans, I'm shocked! You dare accuse us of doing something? We are just innocently sitting by the fireplace and you come here and assume we are up to no good? I'm outraged. Right, Prongs?"
James, whose eyes were dancing over Lily (she blushed at his gaze), didn't answer at first. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to lie, Padfoot?" said James, smiling.
"Er—actually, she taught me to lie… all the time. And how to backstab. And how to act superior…" Sirius gave a bemused "humph" before letting loose a smile.
"Now you're just being difficult," said James, his smile equal to his friend's.
"Me? Difficult? Naw…"
"Well, we can see that you are chalk full of sarcasm, tonight, Sirius," Hermione said.
Sirius looked up at her and grinned. "Why don't you two take a load off your feet, hm? Come. Join us. We were just talking." He patted the ground between him and James. James slid over some more to make room for Lily.
"Looks as if we have no choice, Lil," Hermione said with a shrug and a smile before hopping down onto the floor.
As Lily slowly crouched down onto the floor next to James Sirius commented, "Look who's full of sarcasm now," although he held a proud grin while he spoke.
"Again, I ask you, what are you boys up to?" Lily asked, gazing curiously around at the four Gryffindor boys. Remus fiddled with the rug he was sitting on while Harry scratched his head some more. "And what is wrong with your head, Harry?"
Harry looked up at Lily and stopped scratching immediately. "These gits put some form of itching powder in my shampoo this morning. I managed to get most of it out of my hair before I itched my head off, but…" He glared at the other boys. Sirius just smirked.
"Okay, I won't deny that one." His grin widened and Harry reached up to his head again to scratch it, but, alas, the effect was once again lessened as Sirius's voice cracked.
"Having some trouble with your voice box, Sirius?" smirked Lily. Sirius glared at her as he massaged his throat.
"For your information, Evans," spat Sirius, "Snape cursed me with some spell that is making my voice—"
"Wonky?" finished James, holding a terrible smirk on his face.
"Shut it, you," bit back Sirius. He was very attached to his perfectly smooth voice, and was appalled that Snape would stoop to such a low level as to mess it up.
"Back to the Marauder dares," interjected Remus loudly, seeing as Harry was about to throw a pillow at Sirius. Hermione and Lily groaned.
"That's what you're doing?" whined Lily. "Dares?"
"You don't have to participate if you don't want to," James said quickly. "All you have to do is laugh with us—"
"More like at us," Sirius commented.
"—And have fun. Please stay." He looked apprehensively at Lily. She rolled her head, signaling for them to continue.
"Right," Remus said, clapping his hands together once. "No one remembers whose turn it was, do they?"
"I do believe it was yours, Moony ole pal," Sirius answered sweetly, grinning. "Have any good ones?" he asked the other spectators. "And nothing dirty," he added towards Lily and Hermione with a wink. Both simultaneously rolled their eyes.
"I dare you to…" James started with a malice-filled grin (Remus groaned), "To kick Mrs. Norris, throw an apple pie at her, and leave the pie tin behind. Inside the pie tin, spell out the words 'Cats make a really good dinner' in fake whipped cream. To prove you did so, you must return with a fistful of her cat hair covered in apple pie, all right?"
Remus let out a sigh of relief. "That's it?" he asked. "Phew, I got off lucky this time." He stood up, saluted to everyone, and left the common room with his wand grasped firmly in his fist.
"I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not," Hermione stated as he walked away.
"No, he was being truthful," Sirius croaked. Clearing his throat with a pained expression, he continued. "I guess little Jamesie was feeling particularly generous towards the man… But when it comes to me for this one's dare," (he jabbed his thumb at James) "mercy is no longer in my vocabulary." He feigned a surprised face aimed towards James. "And look whose turn it is: Prongs's! And since Moony isn't here right now, it'll be Harry and me who come up with the next one." James gulped.
After a few minutes of thinking, Sirius spoke up again, with great enthusiasm. "I've got it! You're in luck Prongsie. I was reading one of your books the other day… and I came across this potion that acted quite similarly to the Polyjuice Potion. It changes the drinker's appearance, but it also leaves one characteristic of the drinker's the same…" James and Harry looked at each other. "So my dare is: make that potion, then slip it into random drinks during Christmas dinner."
James was about to wholeheartedly agree until he heard Sirius's last few words. "By Christmas? But that's tomorrow! The potion takes longer to brew than one night."
"Since when can a Marauder hide something from another Marauder?" replied Sirius. "I saw the pile of ingredients near your bed a few days ago."
Sighing, James agreed. He and Harry and other plans, but a Marauder couldn't back down from a dare, now, could he? "All right. Tomorrow it is. But if you want me to feed it to other students at dinner time, they won't be affected for another ten to twelve hours later. That's how the potion works."
Sirius shrug. "That's better, actually. Then Christmas won't be too full with Marauder pranks."
"But that's really advanced magic," exclaimed Hermione abruptly. "I've read about that potion. It's called the Multisap Solution, isn't it? Supposedly, it is harder to brew than the Polyjuice Potion."
"Er—it's already been brewed," said Harry. "You'd be surprised how easier brewing potions is if you don't have a horrible potions teacher breathing down your neck."
"Who will be the volunteer specimen?" said James before Lily had time to question Harry's comment.
Sirius grinned with an evil flicker in his grey eyes. "You."
"What!" yelped James, snapping out from his lazy position, though, he was not the only one: Lily had yapped aloud at Sirius's proposal, too. "You want to change half of the student body into a bunch of James Potters?" added Lily. "Why, that's ludicrous! And besides, teachers will know it was one of you two who did it."
"She has a point there, Padfoot," James said. He couldn't help but to agree with Lily.
"Since when do Marauders care about teachers?" asked Sirius rather sharply. His tone suddenly lightened as everyone gave him a strange glance. "Anyways, it's not as if we care about getting detentions… Right, Prongs?"
James felt the glare of his best friend and of the girl of his dreams, and shrunk under the weight of it all. He felt as if he was the rope in a game of tug-of-war, and Sirius and Lily were the opposing sides. He did not like this feeling at all. Thankfully, Remus entered the common room again. James was saved…. For the moment.
"I've got it," Remus said proudly, plopping down on the floor beside Harry (who was still scratching his head). He held out a fist full was looked like leftovers from a cat's meal. It was Mrs. Norris's hair covered in apple pie. "That was easy, and, I hate to admit it, fun."
"Remus!" everyone gasped. "Breaking the rules, fun?" mocked Sirius.
Remus just grinned. "Did I miss anything?"
"I came up with a brilliant prank," said Sirius egotistically, puffing out his chest. "And I believe it will cause great mayhem and a few headaches for the teachers," he added with a smile. "I dared James to change a good handful of students here into a bunch of James Potters with a Multisap Solution."
Remus gulped. "Oh great."
"Hey!" cried James indignantly. "I'm not that bad looking… am I?" His eyes flickered over to Lily.
"Did anything else happen?" Remus said to save Lily from commenting. "Or are we onto your dare, Sirius?" Everyone else nodded. Remus looked towards the girls, who had both been sitting quietly and listening for most of the time, especially Hermione. "Why don't you two have a go at it? Try to think up a good dare for Sirius to do."
Everyone's reaction was almost immediate. Harry was the only one who didn't respond overwhelmingly. Hermione's still face broke into a true smile, a twinkle in her eyes. Lily's eyes, on the contrary, were lit with a vengeful fire. After all those smart-arse comments and awful pranks he had pulled on innocent Slytherins, she finally had the chance to dish something back at him. James looked lovingly on at Lily, admiring the fire in her eyes (and glad that, for once, it was not aimed at him). Sirius just leaned back some more, seeming quite smug, and gazed deeply at Hermione.
Lily eagerly twisted in her spot on the floor so she could see Hermione properly but could keep an eye on Sirius at the same time. James could tell that she was set on making Sirius's dare the best one yet, without creaking any rules, of course.
"It must be something humiliating," said Lily excitedly to Hermione.
Hermione added, "And something daring."
"Something creative, " said Lily.
"Something really brilliant," they both said together.
"Good guidelines to follow," said a bemused Sirius, his voice altering from low to high to low again, "but are either of you going to articulate any more? Because me pulling off my underpants and making them do the Hokey-Pokey is humiliating, daring, and creative." His face split into a huge, mocking grin.
"I think it should involve something that he has forced his own prey to do," said Lily, ignoring Sirius's comment.
"My own prey?" repeated an amused Sirius.
"From what I've seen so far this year, he does have a thing for singing," Hermione commented to Lily, ignoring Sirius's commentary for the time being. Lily looked questioningly at her friend. "Well, he's made Snape sing loads of times, hasn't he?"
"'He' is sitting right here, you know," said Sirius, not so amused any more. "And might I add that I can't sing very well right now," he said hurriedly, pointing to his throat. In his eyes was a glint of apprehension.
"Then it's settled," said Lily enthusiastically. "We'll have him sing to the school come Christmas morning at breakfast."
"And dance," included Hermione.
"Oh, make it even more embarrassing," said Remus, grinning. "Make him dance on top of the Gryffindor table."
"To an Elvis song," said Lily.
"You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog," said Remus and Hermione at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed. Lily laughed along with them, but was oblivious as to why they both chose the same song.
"All right, it's settled then," said Lily, clapping her hands together in an excited manner. "Sirius will sing You Ain't Nothing but a Hound Dog on Christmas morning to everyone, dancing on the Gryffindor table. Excellent."
Sirius groaned. "But I don't even know the lyrics," he pleaded. Sure, he would usually love to do something like that, bonus points if McGonagall rubs her temples and slams her head on the table, but since his voice was acting a bit dodgy…
"Then I guess you had better learn them before then," said Lily, grinning wickedly.
Sirius's shoulders sank. He knew he couldn't argue his way out of this one. But… A light bulb clicked inside his mind. If he had to go through with this dare, might as well drag the others down with him. "All right, then. Fine. Have it your way." He discreetly took out his wand and aimed it at the clock across the room. It suddenly started to chime for one o clock in the morning.
Hermione and Lily looked startled. "It can be one in the morning already, can it?" asked Lily. She looked at her watch and started to stand up, Hermione right beside her. "We must be going." As they started to walk away, Sirius spoke loudly to James.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Prongs, the girls didn't have the guts to take on a Marauder dare."
James immediately looked away from Lily with an inquiring look on his face. Sirius twitched his head in the direction of the two girls, who had stopped in their tracks. James caught on. "See, I told you they wouldn't volunteer. Too scared to break the rules." Remus and Harry rolled their eyes. "We guys are much stronger and have more nerve than them, isn't that right?"
Hermione knew the boys were coaxing her and Lily to join the Marauders' dares, and she knew better. However, the hot-tempered Lily failed to see the cajoling. She whipped around to face the boys, spinning Hermione around with her. Dragging Hermione along, Lily glared as she marched right up to James and Sirius, who had both stood up to meet the girls.
"Yes?" asked Sirius sweetly.
"Don't you dare call us weak," Lily growled. "We could and we will take on any dare you throw at us, right Hermione?" With hearing no answer, Lily snapped her head towards Hermione. At that set glare, Hermione nodded, though she knew she would regret it, especially with the glint in Sirius and James's eyes.
"Promise?" asked James. "You won't chicken out or anything?"
"Bring it on." Lily put her hands on her hips stubbornly.
"All right then," said Sirius animatedly. "First things first, it must break the rules." James nodded in agreement.
"And must deal with something of teachers, preferably McGonagall."
"And it must be annoying."
"What about a talking parrot?" suggested Remus. Every eye turned towards him, suggesting he was mad.
"I'm not sure I want to know where that came from," said James.
"What about a white ferret that blathers incessantly all the time?" asked Harry, scrabbling up from his spot on the floor. Hermione gave Harry a look that plainly said, "Don't you even go there." Harry, who was now acting more and more like a Marauder with each passing day, just grinned widely at her.
"And it would follow McGonagall all around the school," added James, his grin becoming charged with ecstasy.
"And wouldn't cease until you two confessed," finished Sirius, his grin a mirror image of James's.
"Brilliant!" cried out all four boys.
Lily raised an eyebrow. "You want us to do that?"
"That's almost pathetic," commented Hermione.
"Well, I was thinking of a strip tease for the teachers," said Sirius, "but I thought you two wouldn't fancy that too much."
"Enchanting a ferret to follow McGonagall around is fine with me. How about you, Hermione?"
"All right with me, Lily."
"There's a rule against strip tease?" asked Harry. "Why should there be that rule in the first place?"
"We… helped that rule to come into being," said James, not meeting Harry or Lily's eyes.
"Damn right we did," said Sirius proudly. "The very first day this year, in fact. If only you had come a few days earlier, eh?" He nudged Hermione. She rolled her eyes.
"And it was not a pretty picture, I can assure you that," sneered Lily. "Now if you'll excuse us, we need to get our sleep. Good night boys." Lily and Hermione turned to leave.
"But why so early?" questioned Sirius. He looked at the clock. The girls followed his gaze. It read half past eleven.
"Why you little…!" whispered a half-angered, half-astounded Lily. "You devious little gits!" though she laughed through her words. "Well, I'm going anyways." And she raced up the stairs.
"I'm worried about Lily," said Hermione in a quite serious tone.
James looked up in alert. "Why?" he asked instantaneously. "What's wrong?"
Hermione broke into a grin. "I think you boys are corrupting her."
They all laughed, but were silenced by the most unexpected visitor.
"Professor McGonagall!" breathed Hermione. All the boys stopped in mid-laughter. Rarely did McGonagall show up in the common room. She either was the bearer of bad news, or was about to tell them off for being loud or something of that sort. She seemed to be startled at the Marauders' cackling that she had just heard. That is never a good sign, she said mentally to herself as she walked over to the group of sixth years.
"Can we help you, Minerva?" asked Sirius while laughing at the same time. James elbowed him in the ribs. He understood that when McGonagall came up to the Gryffindor common room, it was not the perfect time to joke around.
The Head of Gryffindor House glared at Sirius before turning to the two time-travelers. "Harry, Hermione, may I have a word, please?" Professor McGonagall asked quietly. She waited for the three Marauders to leave. Indeed: they took their cue and started to shuffle up the back stairs that lead to their dormitory. As soon as Remus's hand reached the banister, though, McGonagall changed her mind. "Actually, you boys will probably have something to say about this, too." They looked inquiringly at their teacher as they made their way back to the chairs by the fireplace. Sitting down, they waited for McGonagall to speak.
"Seeing as Mr. Potter knows this, I'm sure the rest of you know about Mr. Thewler's and Miss Granger's… past," she said, tossing aside subtly. They all turned their heads towards James before nodding. Hermione's eyes went from James to Harry, lingering on the latter before returning her attention to McGonagall. "A student has informed me that he, too, knows about your original whereabouts," she continued, gazing at Harry and Hermione.
"Actually," interrupted Sirius, "it would be more like whenabouts, wouldn't it?" He smiled innocently as her nostrils flared.
"Mr. Black," snapped McGonagall, "for once I want you to try not to interrupt me with pointless comments." Letting out a deep breath, she started to continue in her original manner, but was cut short by another Marauder.
"It was Snape, wasn't it?" said James immediately. He had automatically thought of Lily, but since McGonagall had mentioned a "he", James's mind then jumped to his rival.
"It's not my place to tell," said Professor McGonagall curtly, though her eyes plainly spelled it out: it had been Snape who had ratted them out. "And who 'ratted you out', as I'm sure you're thinking," (James snapped from his thoughts, taken aback by McGonagall's accuracy), "is not important. The point of me being here, is that you two," she said, staring straight at Harry and Hermione, "are in serious trouble if you keep this up. First of all, it's a miracle that Dumbledore actually let you stay in this school while away from your home." Harry's eyes widened. "Yes, Mr. Thewler. Most headmasters would have sent you away to hide in a house far away from civilization. But Headmaster Dumbledore believes in giving others chances."
Remus gulped. All that needed to happen now was for her to bring up werewolves and they would be done for. If only she knew that the two boys sitting beside Remus were actually unregistered Animagi…
"And since you two are from a time where most of the people here are quite familiar to you, I'd advice that you start to act more responsibly," she finished her sentence with a snap. "Don't go flaunting yourselves about this school. This goes for you three, too," she added to the Marauders. "Don't go down the halls talking about this. You shouldn't even know anything… at all!" James, Sirius, and Remus bowed their heads. Satisfied, Professor McGonagall turned back towards the time-travelers. "I am afraid that I will have to take away your future Hogsmeade trips." And she did look apologetic. All the boys opened their mouths to object, but McGonagall silenced them by saying loudly, "I'm sorry, but you must learn. Now, Harry, Hermione, if I can have a private word."
Remus, Sirius, and James all stood up to leave. As they walked away, Professor McGonagall said loudly to them, "Stay out of trouble, boys."
The Marauders just smirked and raced up to their dormitory. Remus won.
McGonagall rolled her eyes and turned to Harry and Hermione. "Dumbledore wanted to tell you that there has been word of another Life-Alter (a/n: Remember? That's what their time-traveling device is called) being made. If his calculations are correct, if should be finished in two to eight weeks."
Harry nodded, though Hermione spoke out. "Excuse me, Professor, but does the Ministry know we're here? Are they keeping track of us?"
Professor McGonagall looked almost saddened. "Under the normal circumstances, yes, they would be fully notified. But now does not seem the right time to do so." Harry looked at her in question, and she answered his unspoken question. "We're not sure which side will be receiving the news: Death Eater's or the Ord… our side," she finished quickly. The professor looked puzzlingly at the two sixth years. Hesitated to say something, but carried on anyways. "Something seems quite familiar about you two," she said, this time her voice was softer. All traces of lecturing had left her tone. "Do I— No. Never mind. Good night." McGonagall started to leave.
"Excuse me, Professor," Hermione said abruptly. "But were you going to ask us of the future?"
McGonagall faltered. "It doesn't matter. Just take heed to what I said. Good night." She left Gryffindor Tower.
Upstairs, James was pacing. When faced with a problem or dilemma, the Marauders would go through a routine. Peter would sit on a bed, stuffing his face with food and looking confused. James was usually the pacer: sometimes talking, sometimes mute. Remus would sit on his own bed, giving advice every time James looked up and stopped muttering. Sirius would lean against something, rolling his eyes every now and then, but would also put in his two cents.
Upstairs, James was still pacing. "What's going to happen if anyone else finds out?" he said aloud to his friends. But before they could even open their mouths, James continued. Remus and Sirius looked at each other; they could tell a full-on rant was heading their way. "They could be kicked out of the country. Sent to Australia. Forced to eat gross peanut-butter-wanna-be for the rest of their days! What have I done! I think it might've been my fault, actually. Snivellus probably overheard the conversation between either me and Hermione or me and Thewler. It's all my fault!"
In the middle of James's rant, Sirius, who had a far-away look on his face, turned to talk to Remus. "You know, we don't even know Hermione's real name, do we?" he asked in a hollow voice. The comment McGonagall had made left a mark of Sirius. He had never realized that there was the possibility of Hermione being whisked away to the middle of nowhere. He couldn't get that thought out of his mind.
Remus looked away from the crazed boy that was ranting, his grin fading into a solemn look. "It could be some awful name that sounds like a Yank's." Both boys shuddered.
"She probably won't be here for much longer, will she?" Sirius asked.
Remus could not answer.
"Oh, that greasy prat is probably going to hold it over our heads, too," continued James, never noticing his two friend's conversation. "That Snivellus is going to use it against us. Against me. Torment me. But I shan't let him get to me. No, don't give in to his taunts. Don't give in to the Dark Side."
"Yeah, use the Force, Luke," said Harry, standing in the doorway. Living with the Dursleys didn't mean he was entirely shut out from the Muggle world. He had learned a few things every now and then. Star Wars was one of them. Hermione was standing beside Harry.
"The Force?" asked Remus.
"Who's Luke?" asked James, stopping mid-rant.
Sirius, however, had no interest in learning what the Force was or what Luke had to do with it. He saw Hermione and felt an overpowering emotion inside. It was so uncontrollable that he strode forward, disregarding everyone else in the room (since all his eyes could see was Hermione) and pulled her right outside the door. They were out of sight from everyone else, Hermione's back against the stone wall. Without a pause, he bent his head down and kissed her, good and proper. It was short, yes, horribly good. The moment he pulled away, he explained in short words. "Thank you for not being sent off to some lonely island. Thank you for messing with time. You being here is probably the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time."
Hermione looked at the boy in front of her. Emotions swelled inside her mind, crashing against the side of her head painfully. Out of all the confusion of complete glee, utter sadness, and slight anger, she managed to say the words that she had been programmed to say. "Sirius, we can't—"
"But we can," intervened Sirius. "It's quite possible, if only for however short of a time you stay here. Being without you is killing me. Remember, 'Tis better to have love and lost, than never to have loved at all.'" Sirius stepped back, satisfied with his argument, and watched the war raging in her eyes.
Although the rule abiding had spoken out once, it was the other half of Hermione's mind—the regular teenage, hormonal girl—that reacted next. Laying a soft hand on Sirius's cheek, she gave him a swift kiss on the lips. Ending the sweet moment, she gently pushed past him and started to walk away. Hermione didn't stop until she reached the other staircase that lead to the girls' dormitories. Looking back at him, Hermione spoke. "I'll give you my answer tomorrow, all right?" Sirius, who was dumbfounded by her kiss, just nodded numbly. "Think of it as a Christmas present, if you wish." She smiled once more before traveling back up the stairs. Echoing down the corridor rang her voice: "Good night."
Sirius stood blankly, watching her shadow fade away into the shadows. Just in that short amount of time outside in the corridor, he went from feeling awkward to content to absolutely baffled. It took him a few minutes to take in everything while his brain moved as slowly as molasses.
Hermione kissed him.
Nope, too difficult. He decided to start with something a bit more simple.
Spontaneously, he blurted that he was thankful of Hermione's presence.
Okay, odd, but he accepted it.
He kissed her.
No confusion there.
She replied with her usual excuses. He countered it with a famous quote that fit perfectly.
Odd, again, but Sirius was known to be random sometimes.
Hermione kissed him.
…Plausible, almost.
She mentioned something about a Christmas present….
By the time James came out to fetch his friend, Sirius's mind had rested on one plain emotion: eagerness for Christmas morning to arrive.
"You all right there, mate?" asked James, noticing his friend's stance and hazy eyes. He waited a few more seconds before Sirius nodded.
"Yeah, or at least, I will be," said Sirius cryptically. He did not explain anymore, and James took the hint. It was something his friend was still processing.
"Whatever you say, Padfoot." James clapped Sirius on the back. "You missed Thewler's explanation of the Force. It was quite… interesting." He chuckled. Noticing Sirius's immobility, James grabbed his friend and yanked him back into their dormitory.
"Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him," Harry was saying.
"You mean it controls your actions?" asked Remus.
"Partially, but it also obeys your commands," Harry corrected.
"Are you two still going on about this Force?" asked James exasperatedly. "Sounds like a load of hokey religion stuff to me, a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."
They all laughed while changing into their pajamas.
"Can you believe it's going to be Christmas tomorrow?" asked Harry excitedly, hopping into his bed, clad in his new pajamas.
"Presents," said James, starry-eyed. This year he was hoping for a gift from a certain red-haired, green-eyed beauty he had been chasing after for quite some time. But a concept that had just entered his head shattered his thoughts. "Aren't you going to miss home? I mean, this would probably be your first Christmas away from home, wouldn't it?" As soon as he spoke, James realized his choice of words. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask you about the future. I was just curious—"
"It's fine," Harry said quickly. "I know. But, yeah, I'm going to miss my friends… and family," he added, just not to make James curious. "But being with all of you is a once in a life-time thing, isn't it?"
"I guess," said James. Another thought popped up in his head. "Hey! In the future, then, Lily and I will have the house to ourselves this Christmas… Lucky me." His grin became devious. Harry could not pull himself to agree, so he just turned over, pretending to put something away in a coat pocket beside his bed. James turned to Remus and Sirius, who had been quiet since McGonagall's talk.
"What're y' thinking about, Moony?" James asked.
It was a while before Remus answered. "Hermione's a pretty nice girl, isn't she?" he said vaguely. James chose not to answer verbally, but responded with a half-shrug, half-nod. Sirius and Harry both instantaneously looked at the lycanthrope. A few more seconds passed by as Remus gathered his words. "I would love to go out with her, but… it'd be selfish, wouldn't it?"
"What do you mean?" James asked.
"One: she would leave with a broken heart, and would have to go back to a time where I'm her father's age. And that's going to be a bit awkward for her, isn't it? But also, I've been betraying Dumbledore's trust every month for the past year or so. I can't do any further to upset it." Remus sighed. "I think it's better if we just keep our distance away from her… and you." He looked straight at Harry.
"Him!" cried out James. He sputtered a few breaths before speaking. "Remus! We can't just toss aside a friendship because of some stupid rule!"
"I'm not saying we kick him out of our dormitory and turn our backs on him completely, but we can't keep on acting the way we are. This is endangering our lives, Prongs! And their lives, too."
"Honestly, you keep acting as if we are pinpoints of the future," said James exasperatedly. "Just because we're close friends doesn't mean the world is going to end in the future."
Harry followed the argument like a tennis rally. He had guilt burning inside himself. In his heart, he knew Remus was right. But this was Harry's only chance to be with James or Sirius ever again. A few months ago, back in his own time, he would have done anything to be in his situation that he was in right now. But it wasn't as simple.
"'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.'"
Everyone stopped their arguing and looked at Sirius, for it was he who had said the quote.
"What was that?" James asked.
"'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all,'" Sirius said again in a simple tone. "James is right, Remus. Sure, we won't 'flaunt', as McGonagall put it, around Harry and Hermione's original whenabouts, but we can't stop being friends. We can't 'keep our distance'. We're the Marauders. We are more loyal than that. And no matter what Harry's choice is, he will always be a Marauder to us, and I'm sure to himself, too."
Remus nodded grimly before facing Harry. "You must understand that I don't want to stop being friends, it's just that this time-traveling isn't a joke. And I'm just starting to realize the consequences."
"Welcome to my world," mumbled Harry lightheartedly.
Hours after Father Christmas's arrival, Sirius woke up, his dreams haunting him. Yet again, he had the dream of seeing his, James, and Lily's grave with death dates not too far from the date right now. Hermione also made an appearance in Sirius's dream, saying, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
This couldn't mean that Hermione was hiding something fatal from Sirius, could it? Well, of course she was keeping some things away from Sirius, and that was to be expected from a time-traveler. It just worried Sirius when he saw James and Lily's grave, with the dates of 1960-1981.
Sirius shook his heads to get the thoughts of his disturbing dream out of his head. However, another thing had been on his mind right before he fell asleep. It had to do with Remus's talk.
So Remus was going to lay off on Hermione. Sure, the boy was going to be around her and talk to her, but no more fighting for her. Sirius found the positive side to this in thinking that he could now…further his fancy without having to fight against Remus.
Although, this meant that now, Sirius would be opposing not only Harry's, but also James and Remus's wishes. From Sirius's view, the three other boys still thought that Sirius would dump Hermione once he was bored with her, but that was not true! Sirius had never met a girl like Hermione, and he was willing to do anything to make her happy. But letting her go would be hard.
Was Sirius really prepared for Hermione's "answer" that she promised him? If it was a yes, if Hermione would actually act more than a friend, it still would be awkward. They would have to hide it most of the time, which never ends well, as Sirius knew from personal experience. Also, Hermione would limit to how close they actually grew. She would hold back, which could hurt her even more, not to mention Sirius. They would both have to act responsible.
If she said no, if she denied him, once and for all, it would be the worst Christmas Sirius would have to go through, not to mention the following days afterwards. It would be torture to be so close to someone that he possibly loved and not be able to act on his emotions. I don't think I could do that for long…
What would happen when she left? Sirius knew that that time would come sooner than he hoped. Even though he was determined to make her happy until the very last second, others might get in the way, including herself.
Sirius would have to go through almost twenty years without Hermione. That alone was enough to drive him mad. Might as well be chucked in Azkaban… But at the end of twenty years, at the end of that dark tunnel… she'll be waiting for me, right? If and when things grew bad, the fire that would be lit inside his head would keep going: she will be there.
James woke up, shouting, "I'm drowning in pudding!" He screamed and bolted upright, panting. Once he realized his true surroundings, his breathing calmed down. He looked across to see Sirius looking at his friend as though he were mad. Sirius looked as if on the verge of hysterical laughter. Instead of making a sneer comment, James took a deep breath, as if preparing to yell, which he did.
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!"
His other roommates groaned and moments later, James was buried under a great pile of pillows, and feather sticking out of his mouth.
A/N: I'm getting better at updating, aren't I? I know a month is a long time, but it's better than two, isn't it? Now. How many people realized that the first paragraph in this chapter was exactly from the fifth book of Harry Potter (I modified it a little to fit) when Harry and Cho are at Madam Puddifoot's? Raise you hand high, now. That's good. Next poll. How many of you actually raised your hand to a computer screen? Raise 'em up higher! Good! I'm glad we all have a bit of insanity in us.
BRAVO to all who spotted the HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY funness in the last chapter. I, personally, am excited to see the movie, though I know I'll still love the books better.
And to all those Star Wars fans out there… Is anyone as excited as me for Episode III? (Did you like my references to Episode IV in this chapter?)
Okay, I'm done now with my love for movies. On to something that deals with this story. Now… Many of you have asked how many chapters are there going to be in this story. To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I'm actually winging it as we speak. And I don't want to give you an estimate for two reasons: I don't want to be proven wrong, and it takes all the fun away! Honestly… :D
I am touched by how many people cared about my dodgy laptop (named Apocalypse). All of your good wishes must've helped, because it is now fixed and running properly! Yay! Sure, there's no more Solitaire, but I think I'll live. ; )
Fallen Angel of Hell: That "mistake" you found in chapter eleven… I think you got confused. I wasn't actually implying that Draco was really in the back of the Potions classroom. It's just that Harry and Hermione were so used to hearing his snickering after Snape taunted them that they started to hear it in their minds. (That's how much of a pain he is… but maybe that's just me thinking that)
alyce: Being sick on one's birthday is definitely not fun, I agree. Definitely not my cup of tea. By the way, my birthday is the fifteenth of February. :D
Cini: Ahhh, fresh meat.
Er… I think that's all. Thank you to all who reviewed! And I thank you in advance, because you're going to review a few seconds after you read thing, aren't you? ; )