CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THREE
James led the way to the compartment as the friends boarded the train. When he slid open the door, Remus and Peter were already there. From there, he inhaled deeply and exhaled with a smile.
"Am I the only one excited about being a N.E.W.T. student?" he asked as Sirius helped Jane put her suitcase up on the luggage rack.
Remus, who was hastily pinning his Prefect badge to his robes, just nodded.
"Yup, really exciting," he said. "Gotta go."
"But we just got here, Moony," James said.
Remus shrugged as he made for the compartment door.
"Prefect," he said, pointing to his badge.
James just shrugged and fell down into the seat across from Peter.
"What about you, Wormy? Any thoughts on being in sixth year?" James asked.
"I don't know what classes to take," Peter said. "The classes we take now decide our whole future. I don't know what I wanna be."
"I'm gonna be an Auror," James said.
"No, you're not," Jane said. "That job's dangerous, especially in times like now."
"Now's the best time to be an Auror because they're always looking for more," James said.
"Ah, don't worry, Janie," Sirius said, "James is a big boy; he can handle himself. He's gonna live a full, happy life and then die alone."
"I will not!" James said.
"Yeah, you will," Sirius shot back, "because you'll still be pining for Evans, and she'll still hate your guts."
"That sounds about right," Peter said.
Jane rolled her eyes; they were getting off topic.
"What about you, Sirius?" she asked.
"Well, I plan to die with at least three women thinking I love them—"
"I meant, what do you plan on doing after Hogwarts, you git?"
"Oh, well, I plan to get by purely on charm and my devilishly handsome looks," he said, flashing her a grin.
"So, you're gonna live on James' couch for the rest of your life," Jane said.
"All right!" James said, giving Sirius a high five. "Roommates for life!"
"I worry about you two sometimes," Jane said.
"Well now, Miss Hensworth, what exactly are your future plans?" Sirius asked. "Thinking of boring yourself to death with a job in Herbology?"
"Actually, I was thinking of being a Healer," Jane said.
Sirius opened his mouth as though to insult her choice of career, but stopped.
"I actually have nothing bad to say about that job," he said.
"See, I have nothing to worry about," James said, leaning back into his seat. "If I get hurt on the job, Jane'll fix me right up. We'll make a nice little team."
"You're putting your life in Janie's hands, Prongs. I'm not sure if I agree with that," Sirius said.
Jane narrowed her eyes at him.
"If you're ever on a hospital bed in front of me, don't count on me to save your life," she said.
"Nix that last part and that could be the beginning of great sexual fantasy," Sirius joked.
Jane cringed away from him, and James thumped the back of his head.
"You shut up, Padfoot, or you will end up in the hospital," James said.
"I was just joking, Prongs," Sirius said, still smirking.
"You disgust me," Jane said, giving him a small kick.
"Oh, you love it," he mumbled, and Jane felt a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips if only for a second, but she rolled her eyes anyway.
"Maybe you should focus on what you want to do with your life. I mean, you have to pick your classes tomorrow," Jane said.
"This conversation about school and future plans is really bumming me out. Change the subject," Sirius said with a wave of his hand.
"Aren't you kind of scared about not having a plan?" Peter asked, as it was obvious that he himself was.
"Please," Jane snorted, "people like James and Sirius don't need plans; everything works out for them."
Sirius nodded and smiled.
"See? Someone's finally getting it," Sirius said.
Jane rolled her eyes again. It was the truth. James and Sirius could be whatever they wanted to. She had heard Mrs. Potter bragging about their O.W.L. results. Mostly Outstandings and a few Exceeds Expectations, even in classes like History of Magic. Jane had no doubt that they would coast through these next two years of school and have the same results on their N.E.W.T.s. It was almost repulsive how good they were.
"You pure-bloods and your perfect grades that you hardly work for," she said with a smirk on her face.
"Now, now, Janie, let's not discriminate," Sirius said.
"Not everyone can be Muggle-born like you," James said, smiling.
Jane smiled and leaned back into her seat, closing her eyes.
"You two couldn't last one week without magic," she said.
Sirius' eyebrow lifted.
"Is that a challenge I hear?" he asked.
"I do believe it is, Padfoot," James said.
Jane opened her left eye ever so slightly to peer at them. They both had identical grins on their faces. She rolled her eyes under her closed eyelids.
"It's not a challenge; I just know you couldn't do it," Jane said.
"And how much would you be willing to wager?" James asked curiously.
"Well, it'd be different for both of you," Jane said. "I'd wager a lot more against you than I would against Sirius to tell you the truth."
James scoffed.
"Why?" he demanded.
Jane shrugged, her eyes still closed.
"I just think Sirius could probably last a bit longer without magic than you could."
Sirius smiled triumphantly.
"Not that either of you could last too long without it," she added.
"Well, now you've turned it into a competition," James said.
"Oh, Merlin," Jane said, knowing how competitive in nature James was.
"Face it, Prongs," Sirius said. "I'm the better man here, even Janie knows it."
"Don't count on it, mate. I can best you at anything, and that includes going a few days without my wand," James said.
"Broomstick too," Peter added.
James and Sirius looked at him, and Jane opened her eyes and smirked a bit.
"You know, he's right. A flying broomstick qualifies as an enchanted object and therefore is equivalent to magic," she said.
"But we need our brooms for Quidditch," James said.
"Yeah, and technically they need their wands for classes," Peter pointed out.
Sirius smiled.
"Well, hang on now," he said, "what about exceptions? How about, outside of Quidditch and classes, we can't use our wands or brooms. We'll just see who breaks first."
"Not just brooms," Jane said. "No enchanted quills, none of that map that you finished over the summer—"
"You finished it?" Peter interrupted excitedly.
"Just the other night," James told him.
"Janie even came up with a cool password for it," Sirius said.
"I did not come up with that stupid password," Jane said.
"What is it?" Peter asked.
James pulled his school bag closer to him and took out the map, which, by the look of it, wasn't so much a map as it was a blank piece of parchment folded in all types of ways. Sirius pulled out his wand and cleared his throat.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said, tapping the paper with his wand tip.
The Marauder's Map, as James had dubbed it, came alive, revealing itself. Jane rolled her eyes at the stupid password.
"The only thing you two are gonna use that for is mischief," Jane had said. "You might as well just announce every time you use it that you're up to no good."
They had liked it, and they had used it. And secretly, though she claimed it was completely stupid, some part of her was happy about having given them the idea. She hadn't really ever helped with the map, and she was the only one not represented on it as a result, so it was nice to have a small part in it. She may have not been a "Marauder," but what she had contributed was enough to make her smile inside every time she heard them swear that they were up to no good.
"Anyway," she said, bringing their attention back to what she had been saying, "no map, no invisibility cloak—"
"Oh! No getting people to do magic for you!" Peter added.
"Right you are again, Peter," Jane said, and she smiled devilishly. "No more Exploding Snap, which is going to be my personal favourite. No Wizard's Chess, no self-shuffling cards—in fact no wizarding games at all."
"No Zonko's," Peter added.
"What?!" James said. "No Zonko's? But—"
"Giving up so soon, Prongs?" Sirius asked.
"No," James said, "it's just—Zonko's…"
Jane smiled happily.
"So, are you two really gonna do this?" she asked.
"Wait!" Sirius said. "Does the whole no magic thing exclude meals, because food popping up on a plate seems pretty magical to me, and I'm not ever willing to sacrifice my food to prove a point."
"Meals don't count," Jane said.
"I'm in," Sirius said. "I know I can win this one."
"Bring it on, Fido," James said.
"I'm not afraid of you, Bambi."
Jane and Peter laughed.
"Oh, this is going to be fun," Jane said. "I think I might start a pool. Peter, wanna place a bet on who you think will win?"
So, when they got to the school, Jane, Remus, and Peter had already started to collect the wagers. Jane herself had put five Galleons on Sirius; James was just too pampered to win this sort of thing. Remus kept the money, and Jane held onto the list. All throughout the Sorting, James kept asking to see everyone who had bet against him, but Jane refused. This was going to be fun for her. It was going to be oh so fun.