Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything that is copyrighted.
A/N: Thanks to Kay-chaan and QuietWorld for reviewing.
Chapter Three: Waiting
"Ow! Adriana, why didn't you move?"
"Because I didn't have enough t -- ow! Lily!"
"Sorry! Why didn't you move?" Lily rolled off her friends and stood, peering at the dark hole in the wall. She frowned and rubbed her elbow. Who would have thought that crashing into a tapestry while racing down the corridor would lead them here?
"Was that a slide or something?" Kathryn asked as she picked herself up.
"I guess." Adriana pulled the elastic out of her hair and shook her head like a dog.
"So what floor are we on, fifth?"
"Probably lower. I think the question is, how are we going to get back to where we know where we are?" Adriana was now pulling her hair back into its half ponytail.
"Great." Kathryn shook her head. "We've been going to this school for what, over two years, and we can still get lost."
"That's Hogwarts!" Lily said cheerfully. "C'mon, let's go this way." She strode off down the corridor.
"Why this way?" Kathryn asked, catching up to her.
"D'you have any better ideas?"
"Well, we could always go the other way . . . "
"Why?"
"Because it isn't your way."
"Adriana, may I hex her?"
"Be my guest."
In an instant, Kathryn had been blindfolded with her own sash and spun around by Lily. "Now which way are you going?" the hexer asked triumphantly.
"Down," the hexee said promptly before stumbling and falling dramatically. Adriana burst out laughing.
Lily yanked Kathryn up by the arm and marched her down the corridor, followed by the still-laughing Adriana. "If you don't watch out, I'll bang you into something," she threatened.
"Ooh, would that mean I'd get to go down another slide?" Kathryn grinned, knowing she was infuriating her friend.
"No!"
They rounded a corner and Kathryn felt herself being jerked to a stop. Adriana's laughter died abruptly. "What is it?" Kathryn asked, knowing it had to be something big -- not much could shock Adriana out of a giggle fit.
"It's them," Lily said in a hushed whisper.
"Lovely," Kathryn responded automatically and sarcastically.
"No, Kathryn, it's not like that, look . . . " Lily pulled the sash off her friend's head.
It was them . . . but it wasn't. There were only three of them and they were serious, no, they were beyond serious . . . yet it was definitely James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew.
James was sitting slumped against the wall with his arms wrapped around his legs, his forehead resting on his knees. Peter was standing nervously against the same wall, eyes on Sirius, who was pacing the corridor anxiously. Neither Sirius nor Peter spared the girls more than a passing glance; James didn't look up at all.
What are they doing here? Kathryn wondered. Then she caught sight of the door halfway down the corridor. Oh, God. The hospital wing.
Lily and Adriana appeared to be thinking along the same lines. "Remus . . ." Adriana breathed.
"What do we do?" Lily wondered aloud softly. "I mean, should we just walk away, or . . .."
"Or find out exactly what happened," Kathryn declared firmly. "And don't look at me that way. Something major has happened here, people are going to ask questions, do we want them to have to tell everybody?" Without waiting for an answer she stepped forward. "Sirius?"
He ignored her.
Lily and Adriana looked at each other, silently agreeing that Sirius, when agitated, was not about to give answers. Knowing Peter would not need much persuasion -- and therefore give her little need to talk -- Adriana approached him, leaving Lily standing awkwardly beside the huddled form that was James Potter.
"James?" she ventured. She crouched beside him and hesitantly touched his shoulder. "What happened?"
He didn't answer, didn't move. Lily could hear his breathing, slow and even. Was he asleep? Her legs began to ache and she sat down. "Talk to me. What's going on?"
No answer.
Lily sighed and looked over to the others. Peter was talking to Adriana, but Lily couldn't catch his words. Her friend's face, however, told her enough. Lily saw her take a gulp of air, and knew she was struggling not to cry -- Adriana was like that.
Kathryn was still trying to catch Sirius, who was on the verge of wearing a hole in the floor. He was clearly not about to talk, or, for that matter, stop pacing.
Feeling uncomfortable and out of place, Lily focused her gaze on the floor and examined the rug. It was a long strip of multicolored plush -- red, yellow, green, blue, purple around the edges -- worn in places and continually being kicked around by Kathryn and Sirius. She watched their feet go by. Once . . . twice . . . five times . . . ten times . . .
"Ah, boys. And, of course, girls."
Lily looked up, startled. There was Professor Dumbledore, standing above them without the usual sparkle in his eye. She stood up automatically.
"Professor!" Sirius exclaimed, frozen in his tracks. Kathryn pulled up with a disgruntled look on her face; Peter and Adriana both turned. "Are you -- do you have . . . I mean . . .." Sirius stammered, suddenly looking very young.
"I do have news of Mr. Lupin." The headmaster's eyes still didn't twinkle.
Seeming to suddenly hear him, James scrambled to his feet so fast he almost fell over, but caught himself in time.
Sirius didn't take his eyes off Professor Dumbledore. "What is it?" His voice was calm now, but lacked its usual smoothness.
"We'll just -- go now," Adriana broke in awkwardly.
"You guys can stay; it's fine," Sirius said tightly, not looking at them.
"No really, we don't --"
"Please do stay," Dumbledore said courteously.
Confused, the girls glanced at each other but stayed where they were.
"Mr. Lupin has been transferred to St. Mungo's," the headmaster said gravely.
There were several sharp intakes of breath.
"But -- but he'll be all right, won't he?" Sirius said anxiously, finding his voice.
"That may be the case. But" -- Lily's heart sank -- "I will not lie to you. The echinodermaga's venom is a serious matter -- and I do not mean you, Mr. Black."
Nobody thought the joke was funny.
"Boys, you must prepare yourselves -- he --"
"Don't say it," Sirius snapped.
"He may not make it."
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SAY IT!" Sirius exploded. Lily looked at him; he was shaking with fury -- Peter had fallen back a step, looking dumbstruck -- James had a hand on the wall to steady himself --
"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT? IT'S NOT TRUE! It's -- you --" Sirius looked around wildly. "You're . . . you're upsetting the girls!"
"Possibly," Dumbledore said sadly.
"Oh, for the love of Merlin," Kathryn snapped, "calm down!"
Sirius looked at her, still shaking. "It's not true," he repeated, almost pleadingly.
"Do any of you know what became of Mr. Lupin's wand?" Dumbledore asked. James started, and Lily felt quite sure that he had no idea. Sirius, however, put his hand into the pocket of his robes and, hand trembling, mutely handed over the wand.
"Would you ladies please accompany the boys back to Gryffindor Tower?"
"Sure," Lily said, slightly puzzled. She gave James a shove to start him moving. Professor Dumbledore gave them the slightest of nods before disappearing into the hospital wing.
"Oh, my gosh," Adriana breathed once the boys were up their staircase and well out of earshot. She dropped into an overstuffed armchair and repeated the refrain under her breath. "Oh, my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my --"
"Why can't you just say 'Merlin' like a normal person?" Kathryn asked grumpily.
"Kathryn!" Lily exclaimed.
"All she ever says is 'oh my gosh,' and it's starting to get on my nerves!" Kathryn retorted.
"Point taken. Now shut up."
Silence. Adriana stopped muttering.
"They sure were serious tonight," Lily said finally, just to break the stillness.
"Yeah."
Quiet again.
"It's sort of wonderful and horrible at the same time, isn't it?" Adriana remarked thoughtfully.
"Definitely horrible," Kathryn said dryly, "but I utterly fail to see how it's wonderful. Enlighten me."
"Well, it's not it that's wonderful, exactly," Adriana continued reflectively, unperturbed by her friend's tone. "It's that they -- you know . . . they care so much. It's sweet. That's what's wonderful."
"We always knew they could be sweet," Lily murmured.
"We did?" Kathryn asked blankly.
"Yeah. We didn't spend half of first year hanging out with them not to notice."
"Once," Kathryn said. "We saw their sweet sides once. And that was in second year. When James and I became starters and Sirius was only a reserve."
"Whatever!" This was Lily's way of tacitly admitting defeat. "Remus is the only one who's halfway sane -- I mean normally. I hope he'll be alright." She sounded discouraged. "I mean, if Dumbledore is worried . . .."
"Now, what am I always telling you?" Adriana demanded, suddenly sitting up straight.
"Have faith," Lily and Kathryn said together, rolling their eyes.
"Oh, don't be so skeptical. Keep the faith. Don't lose hope. Anything is possible."
"We know," Kathryn groaned. "And 'hate' is a very strong word."
"You're right," Lily cut in, stopping the argument in the brewing. "Who knows? They could become sane for good one day. Anything is possible."
Sirius sank onto his bed and held his head in his hands. "It's not," he said stubbornly to the floor. "It's not that bad."
Remus's voice floated through James's mind. No, he's in denial. Right, Siri? James let out a strangled sort of snort.
"What?" Peter asked.
James said nothing.
Peter changed the subject abruptly. "God, this sucks."
James nodded, wishing Peter would just be quiet.
Peter looked at him closely. "Would you please say something? You're freaking me out."
"Shut up!" James snapped finally, yanking his hangings shut. He stared up at the canopy and knew he would never get to sleep for worrying.
It was going to be a long night.
"Are they coming or not?" Lily wondered aloud.
"They better," Kathryn said. "And it's none of our business, anyway. Lil, did you finish the essay? I forgot, in all the . . . excitement."
"You idiot! Transfig starts in, like, three minutes!"
"I know! Help me, eh?"
"Why do I always have to bail you out of things?" Lily groaned and pulled out her essay. "All right, let me see."
Adriana left them to it, watching the door surreptitiously. The remaining Marauders rushed into the room just in time for class but hesitated, standing awkwardly by the door rather than sitting down. Adriana looked around; there were tons of empty desks. She looked back at the boys. Oh. Two-person desks. Three of them. She bit her lip to keep from crying, then, on impulse, leaned in towards Lily and Kathryn. "Pretend to fight," she hissed.
"What?"
Adriana was already walking towards the boys, bag in hand. "Peter!" she called. Can I please please sit with you? They're bickering again and I can't take it anymore!" She heard Lily and Kathryn start arguing behind her and sent up a silent prayer of thanks for her friends.
Peter looked relieved. "Yeah, sure." Adriana dragged him to the nearest desk and James and Sirius sat in front of them just as Professor McGonagall started the lesson.
Adriana turned to Lily and Kathryn and mouthed, "Thank you."
Lily gave her thumbs up and grinned.
Adriana turned back to Peter and hissed, "Why are you guys late?"
Peter made sure McGonagall was looking the other way before he said, "Sirius and me had to see Dumbledore."
"You didn't get punished, did you?"
"No." Peter made a face. "He gave us a lecture and then said he thought we'd been punished enough. Sirius said he'd take punishment over this, thank you very much, but it didn't matter anyway, because it wasn't real, and then Dumbledore just looked at him." Peter sighed deeply.
Adriana frowned. "Sounds like something's wrong with him."
"Yeah, well, let's don't talk about it," Peter said moodily.
Potions classes had been canceled; the third years opted to spend the period before lunch in the Tower along with assorted sixth and seventh years. Lily, Kathryn, and Adriana roped Peter into their conversation and James sat with them until he felt he couldn't stand it anymore. He stood silently and ran up the stairs to the dorm, suddenly wanting nothing more than to get away.
He found Sirius there, sitting on the window seat with his head resting on one of the glass panes, staring into the grounds below. James sat beside him and put a hand on his arm, now wishing he could get away from here as well. But he couldn't leave Sirius so upset, he just couldn't.
"It can't be that bad," Sirius said suddenly. "It's not it's not it's not . . . is it?" He turned his head to look at James.
James just looked back at him.
Sirius groaned and dropped his head, inadvertently banging it against the window. "Moony . . . oh, god, it was all real. Hatabie --"
Whatever happened to him? James wondered.
"-- and the echinodermaga and that weird hoop thing and St. Mungo's and. . . . and what Dumbledore said . . . ." Sirius trailed off.
"Forget what Dumbledore said," James said suddenly. His voice sounded strange to his own ears.
Sirius jerked his head up in surprise. "Nice to know you can talk."
James shrugged and gave his friend a look that clearly read, Now what did I say?
"Forget what Dumbledore said?" Sirius repeated slowly, thinking over the words. He gave James a half smile. "You know, mate, I 'preciate it, but there's no way I could forget. And I don't think you can, either."
James made a face -- Sirius had seen right through him as per usual.
"I mean really," Sirius continued, "how can we forget when it's all our --"
James got up hastily and left the room.
"Lunch!" Peter said frantically. "I -- uh -- look, there's James -- gotta go." He exited the common room very fast, following James, who had just come down the stairs.
"I think we terrorized him a little," Adriana said, trying not to giggle.
"A lot," Kathryn corrected. "But he just reminded me how hungry I am. Who's with me?"
"Me!" said Lily.
"Not me," said Adriana. "I'm not hungry. You two go ahead."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, go on."
Since Adriana was often not hungry (as opposed to Kathryn, who was always hungry), her friends left it at that.
They heard angry voices as they approached the entrance hall. Upon reaching the door, they could see James with his wand out, threatening Margaret and Shannon, who had obviously been bugging him and Peter for details of just why Remus was missing.
"Just drop it, okay?" Peter was saying angrily, starting towards the doors to the Great Hall.
Unfazed, Shannon stepped in his path. "You haven't told us what happened."
"It's none of your business," James growled.
"Oh, stop it!" Lily exclaimed, jumping in between them. "Leave them alone!"
"He's our classmate too," Margaret said quietly. "We've been up to the hospital wing and all, but -- we've got a right to know."
"Okay, you have a point," Lily admitted, "but --"
"But leave the boys be," Kathryn broke in.
"You guys know something, don't you?" Shannon asked suspiciously.
"Not much," Lily said. "Let them by and we'll tell you what we do know."
"Not much," Shannon repeated dubiously.
Lily wondered just what it was with these girls and information. "Oh come on, Shan. Don't you want to be nice, you know . . ."
"A good Hufflepuff," Kathryn put in dryly.
"Yes. No!" Lily giggled in spite of herself. "A good anything-but-Slytherin, how's that." As she spoke the words, she realized that James and Peter had taken advantage of their distraction and slipped into the Great Hall.
Margaret had noticed this as well. "I think it's too late," she said.
"What?" Shannon spun around. Kathryn burst out laughing. Shannon whirled to face her, eyes snapping. "Well?" she demanded.
Kathryn stopped laughing. "Echinodermaga," she said shortly.
" . . .Oh . . . ouch."
"Will he be okay?" Margaret said anxiously.
Lily shrugged. "He's in St. Mungo's. They don't know if he'll be okay."
"Ouch!"
"Yeah. Look, why don't you two go in to lunch? But if you bother them I'll hex you. Promise."
Looking rather shell-shocked, Shannon and Margaret obeyed.
"Adriana should know about this," Kathryn observed.
"Yeah. Let's go."
Lunch forgotten, the girls raced back up to Gryffindor Tower.
All three soon realized that they still didn't know very much -- Peter, their sole source of information, had missed a lot -- but none of them was willing to ask James or Sirius. Instead, they made a hobby of watching the boys all through Defense and Herbology. They saw how Peter was even more nervous than usual, how he jumped whenever anyone spoke to him. They saw Sirius's face when he thought no one was looking, and how he snapped when Victor Van Dugan asked him to pass the fertilizer. They heard James as the normally exuberant boy became monosyllabic, speaking only when spoken to, and then using as few words as possible. They saw the dark cloud that seemed to descend over the remaining Marauders whenever they were not caught up in activity.
"It may be horrible of me," Adriana whispered, "but . . . I'd rather it was him than one of you."
Lily was surprised that Adriana, of all people, had mentioned this, but she understood.
"Excuse me, dears." A plump witch wearing spring green robes popped in front of the boys on their way back from Care of Magical Creatures. "I'm Samantha Reynolds, from the Daily Prophet," she said pleasantly, extending a hand. Nobody took it.
"Are reporters allowed on the grounds?" Peter whispered.
Samantha Reynolds heard him and smiled. It was a nice smile, Sirius decided, and she seemed friendly enough. "I have permission to interview students who were involved with the events of last night," she said.
Sirius stiffened involuntarily.
"Are you three Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter?" Samantha Reynolds continued, peering at her clipboard.
Sirius considered saying no – but then he realized he was already nodding.
"And you were involved with the exploits of the echinodermaga last night?"
They all nodded reluctantly again.
"Excellent. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"
Sirius opened his mouth to say yes, they would mind very much, but something occurred to him. "Er . . . Ms. Reynolds –"
"Please call me Sam, dear."
"Okay, uh, Sam, but we told everything to the teachers last night – why don't you just ask them?"
Samantha Reynolds smiled sympathetically. "The facts can be distorted through secondhand sources," she explained. "We try to avoid them when we can. So, do we have ourselves a deal?"
Sirius considered. In the meantime, Peter answered for all of them. "Fine."
"Lovely. Let's go find some shade."
Soon Sirius and Peter had answered all of the reporter's questions as well as they could. But far too quickly, she turned to James.
"And you, dear," she said, peering at her clipboard again, "you were the first out in the forest, correct?"
James nodded silently.
"And your friends came after you?"
What are you guys doing?
Warning you.
James shook the voices off and nodded again.
"Right," she murmured to herself. "So it could be that they were after you . . ."
James felt quite sure that they were not supposed to have heard this.
"What?" Peter said, startled. "Who's they?"
"Think, Peter," Sirius said impatiently. "Who do we know who is, in my own words, evil and twisted?"
"Professor Hatabie."
"Exactly," Sirius said. "So then . . . Merlin!" He rounded on Samantha Reynolds. "D'you mean it was all on purpose? Like – like a plot or something?"
A shiver ran up James's spine.
"We're looking into that," she said absently. "But Mr. Potter, dear, the only thing we're missing is an account of what happened in the forest before your friends showed up." She looked up at him expectantly.
James said nothing. After me? Like they wanted me but they got Remus instead? His insides went cold. Who is they? Not that Voldy-whatsit –
"Mr. Potter, dear. I'm waiting."
His mouth wouldn't open. James looked down at his hands.
"If he doesn't want to tell, he doesn't have to!" Sirius snapped defensively.
Samantha Reynolds fixed them all with a very serious gaze. "I didn't tell you this," she said slowly, "but Myles Hatabie is under suspicion regarding the events of last night, along with the fact that he ran away . . ."
"Ran away?" Peter repeated. "That's why he's not here today?"
"Yes. But without more evidence, he cannot be actively searched for or arrested." She gave James a very pointed look.
"If he doesn't want to –" Sirius began again.
James grabbed Samantha Reynolds's clipboard and quill and started to write.
He was just acting normal. Just being a git like normal and not saying what we were supposed to be doing. And then I tripped over nothing (which is not something I normally do) and fell into this big hole and a rock landed on my foot and I couldn't reach my wand so it took forever to get out. Then when I got to the top he was gone.
"So that's what happened to your ankle," Sirius said, reading over his shoulder. "You really should go see Pomfrey about that . . . I still can't believe she didn't notice last night."
"I think she had more important things to worry about," Peter said under his breath.
James shrugged uncomfortably and rubbed his ankle, which he thought was healing quite fine on its own. Samantha Reynolds took her clipboard back and scanned what he had written.
"So, he basically abandoned you?" she asked.
James nodded.
"Right. I think that's everything. Yes. Thank you very much, boys." Samantha Reynolds stood up, shook all their hands, and left.
"C'mon," Sirius said impatiently to James and Peter. "Let's go see Pomfrey now. See if there's any news."
There was no news. At least, there wasn't any until the next morning, when James came tearing into the dormitory, shouting, where Peter and Sirius were still asleep. In time, they joined him at the window, where he was intently reading the morning's Daily Prophet. It was their article.
Sirius didn't want to look at it, but one sentence caught his eye. One of the students was injured in the ensuing scuffle and is currently in critical condition at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Sirius looked up and out the window, staring at the sky and its deluge of mail owls. He considered jinxing them, but dismissed the idea because post owls were notoriously hard to tamper with; besides, it was seriously illegal. It was a nice thought, though.
Kathryn took one look at the front page of the newspaper and choked on her porridge.
"You all right? Can I see that?" Lily asked, taking the paper without waiting for an answer. She spread it out flat for Adriana to see:
HOGWARTS TEACHER SUSPECTED OF DARK ACTIVITYBy Samantha Reynolds, Daily Prophet reporter
Professor Myles Hatabie, Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is missing and believed to have connections to the rising Dark Wizard Voldemort.
On Wednesday night, young James Potter, 13, was alone in the Forbidden Forest with Hatabie on detention. He was trapped in a hole and his teacher abandoned him there. That same night, an echinodermaga escaped from a nearby traveling circus and was wandering Hogwarts' grounds.
Luckily for Potter, several friends came to his rescue. Unluckily for all of them, the echinodermaga found them there. One of the students was injured in the ensuing scuffle and is currently in critical condition at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. However, the most outstanding detail concerns the actions of one Sirius Black, also 13, as the monster followed them in their attempts to escape.
The echinodermaga leapt at them – this tactic of the creature, called the Ness Assault, is reputed to be unblockable and extremely dangerous. Black did not stop to think about this. Instead he jumped into its path. A ring of pure white light burst from his wand, which, upon further investigation, appears to have killed the echinodermaga on contact.
"I don't know how it happened," Black stated bluntly. "All I did was move, and it happened all by itself."
What exactly "it" was remains to be seen. In the meantime, rumors abound concerning the suspiciously timely escape of the echinodermaga and who, if anyone, was its planned target. This reporter would like to remind the Wizarding community that there may be nothing at all to worry about. But undoubtedly, the date of October 29, 1973, should be remembered.
"Holy schmikes," Adriana breathed.
Lily stopped staring at the paper to stare at Adriana instead. "Holy-a what-a?"
"Holy schmikes. Something to say instead of 'oh my gosh.'"
"All right, that makes no sense whatsoever . . ."
"Therefore it suits you perfectly," Kathryn put in, and they all laughed. Then they remembered what the article had said.
"Do you think it's true?" Lily asked. "About Hatabie?"
"It would explain a lot of things," Kathryn said. "Except . . . wouldn't Dumbledore know?"
"Dumbledore isn't God, you know," Adriana said.
"Thank you for the theology lesson," Kathryn said tartly.
"I can't believe what Sirius did," Lily mused. "That's like – I mean . . . wow."
"Yeah."
There was nothing else to say.
It was hard having a friend in the hospital. It was like having a constant ache in the pit of your stomach that widened whenever you stopped to think about it. Sirius and James and Peter were doing their best not to think about it, paying more attention than ever in class and getting involved in conversations at meals or in the common room. At least, Sirius and Peter were talking, and James was listening. Nobody failed to notice that one of the loudest students had become virtually silent, but no one mentioned it. The Daily Prophet article had not gone unnoticed either.
It was funny how many people were suddenly talking to them. They often found themselves surrounded by loud fourth year boys who were asking them for opinions on Quidditch fouls. Emily Campbell, Gryffindor's fifth year prefect, sat down with them on two separate occasions and started talking enthusiastically about any course-related subject that entered her head. Sirius would think that she was probably the only one in Gryffindor, apart from Remus and maybe Lily, who could get so worked up about classwork. Then he would feel a pang and quickly force his thoughts away from that subject. But sooner or later, they would always circle back.
Sometimes Sirius's circulating thoughts got some outside assistance. This was the case on that Friday, the night of Halloween.
"I love feasts," David Michels could be heard to say over and over again, all but bouncing in his seat.
"This is only the second one you've ever been to," one of his friends pointed out.
"And it hasn't even started yet," another added. "We're like fifteen minutes early."
"But feasts always have the best food," David said spiritedly. "My sister told me."
"Apparently the obsession with food runs in the family," Sirius observed, a little too loudly. The younger boys jumped and looked over at him as though he were an alien.
Peter was now giving Sirius a very odd look. "You should talk. Who was it who ate half the table at the Welcoming Feast?"
"What lies!" Sirius cried indignantly, determined to act cheerful. "James, mate, is this marauder not telling the very worst of falsehoods?"
"No, he's not," James smirked, "and aren't we all Marauders?"
All? Dammit, James, do you have to keep reminding me of things? Sirius stuck his nose in the air and forced a haughty expression onto his face. "I can see I'm quite alone. C'mon, guys, Kathryn ate the other half. How come nobody thinks girls can eat a lot anyway?"
"You fancy Kathryn," Peter put in. "And no wonder, you're loony too. You guys are a perfect match."
"I do not fancy her," Sirius protested, though secretly glad for the diversion.
"Yes you do."
"No I don't."
"Yes you do."
"No I – hey, why's it so quiet?"
The Great Hall was almost empty, and now that David and his friends had suddenly stopped talking it was quiet enough to hear the two girls on their other side. It was Margaret and Shannon, heads bent together, clearly gossiping as usual. Sirius wondered absently what interest a bunch of first year boys would have in their mindless chatter.
Then he realized – the girls were talking about them.
"You said you were gonna tell me something," Shannon was saying. "About the boys . . ."
"Okay," Margaret said excitedly. "I overheard Madam Pomfrey talking to Flitwick and she said she heard from St. Mungo's –"
Sirius's chest tightened and he caught James's gaze.
" – and there's no news except . . ."
Why do girls have to be so damn theatrical?" . . . the healer-people said that it was a really close thing, and maybe if they had gotten back a little sooner, Remus would be okay right now."
Peter winced. The bottom dropped out of Sirius's stomach. James looked as though someone had slapped him in the face and when he put his goblet down, his hands were shaking.
"No way," Shannon said. "But how could they tell . . .?"
"I dunno, but that's what she said."
Margaret may have been Shannon's best friend and a gossip, but she knew how to be quiet and her facts were always true.
At that moment a great swell of students pushed their way through the doors and the girls' voices were drowned out in the roar of chatter. Sirius decided that whoever had stolen his stomach had no intentions of giving it back. Peter was chewing his lower lip and looking at him nervously, as though wondering what to do. Sirius looked to James, who in turn was staring down at the table, white as a ghost, unable to still his hands.
Thanks a lot, girls, Sirius thought grimly. This is just what we need. Abruptly he stood up. "C'mon Pete, we're leaving." Peter nodded and disappeared into the crush of people on the other side of the long Gryffindor table. Sirius hauled James up by the collar and steered him towards the doors.
They were going against the flow, and therefore knocked into a lot of people. Moving quickly as they neared the doors, they almost flattened Lily, Kathryn, and Adriana but were finally home free.
"You okay?" Sirius asked James quietly, gripping his shoulders.
James nodded unconvincingly and, shaking off Sirius's hands, pulled a quill from his pocket and started to fiddle with it.
Peter arrived, slightly breathless. "James, are you all right?"
"It's our fault," James burst out suddenly. "My fault. My bloody ankle, that was what held us up. And you guys –" He looked down, avoiding their eyes. "You guys shouldn't've come after me. I would've been fine, honest – I know all about echinodermaga. If it hadn't been for me . . . none of this would've happened."
Sirius and Peter stared; it was the most he'd said in days.
"Okay, number one," Sirius said, regaining his composure, "you didn't know the thing was out there. Number two, we didn't know if you were – okay to fight. Number three, one person could never take on that thing for long anyway; it's huge. Number four . . ." What was number four? "Well, if you're looking at the big picture . . . none of this would've happened if we hadn't pulled the stupid prank. He warned us not to, remember? We didn't pay attention. It's all of our faults."
"And you've both forgotten Hatabie," Peter added helpfully. "If this really was a plot or something, then it's circumstances beyond our control." He looked proud of himself.
"Thank you!" Sirius exclaimed and turned to James, who gave him a kind of upside-down half-smile and changed the subject.
"You look hungry, Pete."
"I am," Peter said feelingly.
Sirius considered going back in to the feast, but the mood had been ruined. "Let's go down to the kitchens," he suggested. House-elves, bless them, didn't ask questions.
"'Kay," Peter said. James nodded, already becoming silent again. Sirius sighed inwardly and turned towards the stairs.
"C'mon, let's race."
"What was that?" Adriana asked after two blurs rocketed past, nearly knocking her down.
"A whirlwind," Lily said. "A.k.a. James and Sirius. What d'you think happened?"
"We'll find out later; let's go!" Kathryn urged. "Margaret said she'd save us seats and I'm starving!"
"You're always starving!"
"Why not try being famished once in a while? I changed my 'oh my gosh' for you . . ."
They eventually found their way to the seats saved by the other girls. Shannon stopped talking to greet them. "We were just talking about the boys."
"The boys?" Lily asked, the encounter by the doors still on her mind.
"Yep."
Lily traded glances with Kathryn and Adriana. "We just saw them leaving," she said slowly. "I thought they looked kind of upset. What –"
"They heard us?" Margaret gasped.
"I dunno, what –"
"Omigod that was – of all the things to hear –"
"Dammit," Shannon said, putting her head on the table.
"Language," Adriana said primly. "C'mon, out with it."
"Well, I was . . . I was telling Shan how I overheard –"
"Just overheard?"
"So I was eavesdropping, shut up," Margaret said, looking flustered. "I heard Pomfrey saying that the St. Mungo's people said that they were just a little too slow getting back from the forest – the boys, I mean – and if they had been a little faster he – Remus might be back at school like now." She looked miserable.
"Holy schmikes."
"Can't you guys talk about these things in private?" Lily snapped. "Oh, I hope they're okay."
"Stay here," Kathryn said, reading her mind. "They don't want us butting in anymore. Sit down, Lil."
Obediently, Lily sat.
By the end of the feast, all the girls were feeling much more cheerful. Lily, Kathryn, and Adriana left the others at the top of the marble stairs, having decided to go up the long way, just the three of them. They were soon giggling uncontrollably and making enough noise for three times their number. Kathryn shrieked in surprise when she tripped over her own feet rounding a corner, and that was when the blurry figure jumped in front of her, holding a wand ready.
It was James Potter. "Shut up!" he whispered fiercely, then turned on his heel and stalked down the corridor.
"Huh?" Lily said, open-mouthed.
"He talked," Kathryn observed.
"You guys better either leave or be quiet or else he'll hex you." It was Peter.
Kathryn peered around the corner. James and Sirius were right there, practicing something that looked suspiciously unlike homework on their pencil cases, and beside them was – the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. "Why?" she heard herself ask, along with both her friends.
"Shh!" Peter waved them farther down the corridor they had come from.
When they were far enough away from the gargoyle to suit him, he stopped and Lily asked, "How can he hex us if he won't say more than one syllable?"
"He'll talk if he has to."
"Oh yeah, he really must hex us," Kathryn responded, "it's a matter of life and d – a matter of utmost importance." If I could blush, I'd be doing it now, she thought ruefully. Adriana was grimacing at her, but Lily was more concerned with keeping the rather awkward conversation going.
"So what are you guys doing here, anyway? We keep running into you in the oddest places . . ."
"Waiting for Dumbledore. We figure he's gotta come by here sooner or later."
"Why, is this his office or something?"
"Yes," Kathryn and Peter said together.
"Jinx!" Adriana yelped suddenly.
"Shh!"
"Sorry."
Lily looked embarrassed on Adriana's behalf. "We'd better go. You aren't gonna be here too long, are you? Sorta lonely."
"We'll be here as long as it takes. James and Sirius want to ask Dumbledore something that's none of your business, so don't ask."
Kathryn had never seen timid little Peter on the offensive before. It was a little disturbing. "Yeah, we'd really better go," she said awkwardly, inching backwards down the corridor and dragging Lily and Adriana with her. "Bye, Peter." She turned and walked away very quickly.