Alright here's the next chapter. Not alot of Draco/Hermione stuff but it kind of sets the scene for future chapters. Now i must warn you that it could take a while to get the next chapter out since i have started a writing course and it will take a huge chunk of my time.
I do not own Harry Potter!!
Chapter six: Marauders Return
Defense Against the Dark Arts was very boring that day, they did mostly theory work on the advanced stages of being a werewolf, ranging from the first change of the full moon, to the effects that the wolfsbane potion has. After DADA the students all trundled down to the dungeons for double potions. Professor Snape was already in the room when they arrived and he wasted no time in starting the lesson.
"Today is not a typical lesson, due to the events of the last couple of weeks, Professor Dumbledore has asked me to restock some of the potions supplies. We have three potions to make today, one is very difficult, one medium difficulty and one that even a simpleton could brew" Snape finished while sending a glare at Neville Longbottom "I'm splitting you into three groups, you will of course be able to tell which potion you will be brewing from the members in your group" everyone started glancing around, knowing that they were going to be put in groups with members of the other house. "Nott, Malfoy, Zabini, Granger, Potter and Weasley, you six will be brewing the Wolfsbane potion for our resident werewolf, the full moon is in two weeks" Snape sneered as he indicated to a large cauldron on the right hand side of the room, "Since these potions are needed urgently, all your instructions and ingredients are already set out, you just need to follow them" Snape scowled, obviously unhappy at what he had had to do for his students. "Bulstrode, Parkinson, Perks, Brown, Patil and Thomas, you will be brewing the Dreamless Sleep potion, in the centre there, Longbottom, Finnigan, you two will do the Pepper-up Potion over the other side of the room. Well what are you all waiting for, move to your cauldrons and begin"
Draco, Blaise and Theo rose to their feet and moved to where the three Gryffindors were already at the cauldron. Hermione was already reading the instructions with a worried look on her face,
"What's up Mione?" Draco heard Harry ask as the Slytherins reached the bench
"Well for one, I'm thankful that Malfoy is in our group, with his potion making skills it will make this easier, but its still going to be difficult, we are really going to have to work as a team"
"What are you talking about Granger?" Draco asked as he took a seat next to her, Hermione handed him the instruction list. Draco skimmed over the parchment and his jaw dropped in astonishment,
"Holy crap! How does Snape brew this on his own?"
"What is it Draco?" Blaise asked,
"Granger's right, we are really going to have to work as a team, otherwise this potion will blow up in our faces. Literally!" Theo, Blaise, Harry and Ron all gulped, then they turned back to Draco and Hermione, unofficially electing them as the two leaders,
"Alright, lets just put our heads together and work out who does what" Hermione suggested. After about five minutes discussion, they separated and started on their respective jobs. Ron was busy pounding three dragon scales into a fine powder, Harry was finely shredding Boomslang skin, Theo was grinding Campher berries into a paste and Blaise was slicing cherry tree root into precise 2mm thick pieces. Draco and Hermione were meanwhile starting on the potion itself.
"It must be good to finally get out of the hospital wing. How many grams of powdered unicorn horn do I need?" Hermione commented. Draco looked at the list,
"Two grams, and yeah its great to get out of there, I was bored out of my mind. I still can't believe that Crabbe and Goyle were stupid enough to set a wild Manticore loose on the Hogwarts grounds"
"Yeah I must admit, even I didn't think that they would be that stupid" Hermione admitted, "What goes in next?"
"Two unicorn tail hairs, one at a time five seconds apart" Draco read. Hermione did as the instructions stated then watched as the potion turned a deep dark purple,
"Is that the colour that its supposed to be?" Harry asked as he handed Hermione the Boomslang skin,
"Yes, according to this it is" Draco answered as he read the parchment with the instructions,
"What do we need next?" Blaise asked as he finished his job,
"Ron I need the green powdered dragon scale, you did remember to keep them separated right?" Hermione asked Ron, after reading the next instruction over Draco's shoulder
"Yes Mione, here you go" Ron answered as he handed her a small dish with a pile of fine green powder in the centre, "I'm still pounding the black one, but the red one is ready when you need it"
"Thanks Ron" Hermione stated as she took the dish "Malfoy does it have any instructions on how to put this in?"
"Sprinkle evenly over potion, leave for fifteen seconds then stir three times clockwise and the potion should turn a royal blue" Draco read, then he read a bit further and added, "Exactly five minutes after it turns royal blue, put all the finely shredded Boomslang skin and the Campher berry paste in at the exact same time, then stir once counter clockwise and the potion should turn fluorescent green. Leave to simmer for ten minutes then add the powdered red dragon scale in the same way that you did the green, but stir only once clockwise and Potion should turn crimson in colour" Draco looked up from the parchment at the rest of the group, "This is where it starts getting tricky, everything has to be timed from now on. Once we put the green dragon scale in we have to time everything to the last second" everyone nodded, Hermione turned to Harry,
"Harry can you set your watch to countdown five minutes? Then you can start the timer when the potion turns blue"
"No problems Hermione" Harry replied as he set his watch,
"I'll do it for the ten minutes that the potion has to simmer" Blaise volunteered as he started to set his watch,
"Thanks Blaise" Hermione smiled at the raven haired Slytherin,
"Draco what happens after the potion turns crimson?" Theo asked as he set the Campher berry paste down next to the cauldron. Draco looked down at the parchment in his hands.
"Simmer for three minutes then add the sliced cherry tree root, potion should let off a plume of pink smoke then turn clear. After potion is clear, stir four times counter clockwise then finally add the black dragon scale in the same manner as the first two scales, then stir twice clockwise and once counterclockwise and the finished potion should look like molten silver"
"Alright, then I'll set my watch for three minutes" Theo stated as he set his watch,
"Malfoy can you read the instructions out as we go, and Ron, can you put the Boomslang skin and the Campher berry paste in when Malfoy says?"
"Sure no worries Mione" Ron agreed and picked up the two ingredients,
"Granger that leaves you in charge of the stirring and the dragon scales" Draco indicated, Hermione nodded,
"Alright lets do this" Harry stated. The three Gryffindors and the three Slytherins followed the instructions off the parchment as Draco read them out. Nearly twenty minutes later they were all looking at a cauldron full of molten silver potion.
"We did it!" Ron stated with a grin, then his grin dropped when Snape materialized next to their workstation. Professor Snape glanced into the cauldron and his eyebrows lifted with surprise at the sight of the perfectly brewed potion,
"I can find no fault so I am forced to do this, ten points each to Slytherin and Gryffindor, it appears that the two houses can work together when needed" and he stalked away, leaving six flabbergasted students in his wake.
Draco, Blaise and Theo were all sitting at the Slytherin table during dinner that night commenting on how surprised they all were about how well they had worked with the Gryffindor golden trio.
"I actually enjoyed potions today, and can you believe that Snape actually gave us all a backhanded compliment?" Blaise asked as he placed a forkful of shepherds pie in his mouth.
"It was strange working with Potter, Granger and Weasley" Theo commented,
"Yeah, we didn't have a single disagreement, but it was actually nice for a change" Draco added, thinking about how well he and Granger had worked together. Blaise opened his mouth to say something else when he was interrupted by a bellow resounding from the Entrance Hall.
"POTTER!" Draco glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw that Harry had paled, though his face was a mask of confusion. The doors to the Great Hall opened and a furious Filch stormed in. "POTTER! I'll kill you for what you did to Mrs Norris!" Filch bellowed again as he stormed into the hall.
"I didn't do anything to Mrs Norris!" Harry shouted as he got to his feet, then he saw Mrs Norris enter the hall behind Filch. The students all started laughing when they saw the cat who had been turned into a miniature replica of the Gryffindor lion.
"Not you Potter, the other one!" Filch retorted as he pointed an accusing finger at James, who was sitting up at the head table with a huge grin on his face. Sirius and Remus both had identical grins on their faces as well.
"Now, now Argus, I think she looks better that way" James smirked. With a roar, both Filch and Mrs Norris both charged towards the head table.
"RUN!" Sirius cried, as the three Marauders bolted from their seats and past the charging Filch. Filch careened to a stop and swung around, chasing after the three men as they ran out of the hall. Everyone in the Great Hall were silent in their collective shock, though Lily Potter was red with embarrassment. They had all returned to their meals and conversations when they heard the clatter of hooves on the stone floor,
"Faster Prongs! He's gaining on us!" came a voice from the hall, everyone looked up in time to see a large black dog bound into the Great Hall followed by Remus, who was riding a huge stag, a look of panic on his pale face. His legs were frantically kicking the stag's ribs and his hands were holding on for dear life to the huge antlers that were upon the stag's head.
"I'll get you Marauders!" came Filch's shout as he putted into the Great Hall astride a very old, mouldy broom that was emitting puffs of smoke from its tail, he held a spear that had obviously been taken from one of the suits of armor.
"Padfoot! Move that bushy black tail of yours!" Remus yelled as the stag and the dog leaped over the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables and galloped past the Hogwarts caretaker and back out of the Great Hall, Remus burying his heels into the stag's ribs yet again. Silence reigned after Filch disappeared after the three, as everybody looked at each other, trying to figure out the puzzle. Harry and Ron had huge grins on their faces, while Hermione was trying to suppress a grin at the same time as scowling disapprovingly, the grin won. A loud scream could be heard outside on the grounds, then all eyes turned to the door, awaiting what would happen next. Five minutes later, the black dog appeared with the stag and its rider. Both animals were prancing proudly. Remus looked like he was ready to pass out, though he still bore a grin on his face.
"Merlin Prongs! Lily was right you do need to lose some weight, you are not the easiest animal to ride at breakneck speeds" Remus groaned as he climbed off the stag and rubbed his sore legs. The stag shook its head then transformed into James Potter, who was holding his ribs with an exaggerated look of pain on his face,
"I was on a diet of air for fifteen years Moony! And did you have to kick me so hard? I'm not a bloody horse!" James retorted, rubbing his bruised ribs,
"My tail is not bushy!" Sirius growled, having transformed and glaring at Remus,
"Have you seen it lately Padfoot?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow,
"Just you wait until the full moon! Then we'll see who has the bushy tail Moony!" Sirius retorted.
"JAMES HAROLD POTTER!" James gulped and dived behind Sirius, peering comically over his shoulder at his irate wife.
"Yes honey?"
"Don't you, 'Yes honey' me, you immature child! What have you done with Argus?" Lily demanded glaring at her husband from where she stood behind the head table,
"He's just playing with the giant squid" Sirius answered with a grin, but fell silent at the glare that Lily sent his way,
"You're in just as much trouble Sirius Black!" she snapped before turning her attention back to her husband,
"Lily, it was just a little fun" Remus tried to explain,
"Remus Lupin, I thought you had more sense than this, you are just as guilty as the other two!" Lily replied,
"Now Lily flower, don't do something crazy! Its tradition that when the Marauders are at Hogwarts that we play a prank on Filch" James tried to placate his wife, though he still remained safely behind Sirius, "If she goes for her wand be ready to transform and run, Moony you'll have to jump onto my back again" James added in a whisper to his two best friends. Both men subtly nodded and moved closer together.
"What kind of an example is that to be giving your son James?" Lily demanded with a pointed look at the bemused Harry,
"The right one! He has to know how to have some fun!" James replied with a cheeky grin,
"JAMES POTTER!" Lily shouted as she reached into her robes,
"NOW!" James shouted as he transformed, Remus leaped onto his back, while Sirius transformed himself.
"LOCOMOTOR MORTIS!" Lily shouted,
"YIKES!" Remus bellowed as Prongs dodged the pink light that shot from Lily's wand, "I nearly fell off Prongs! Get us out of here before your wife actually hexes me!" Remus shouted. The stag, dog and werewolf, bolted out of the door and disappeared onto the Hogwarts grounds. The silence following their departure was broken by the sound of a deep chuckle. Everyone looked up towards the head table, to see the headmaster holding his sides as his chuckle turned into full on laughter,
"Oh I have missed those guys! The Weasley twins are entertaining to say the least, but still they aren't a patch on the Marauders" Dumbledore exclaimed, then he rose from the table, still laughing. Leaving a stunned Great Hall silent in their shock.
"I can't believe that Potter has such a cool old man!" Blaise grinned as he, Draco and Theo sat in the Slytherin common room.
"I know, it must have been such a blast going to Hogwarts when the Marauders were here" Theo agreed,
"Dad said that they were always pulling pranks and stuff" Draco stated,
"I never knew that they were animagi" Blaise admitted,
"They were unregistered, up until the day the Potters were freed" Draco explained,
"So was that how Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban?" Theo asked,
"Yeah, he transformed into the dog and escaped, that's also how he didn't go insane"
"How come he waited twelve years to escape?" Blaise queried,
"Don't know, probably never had the opportunity to do so" Draco answered with a shrug,
"It feels strange to be talking about people that were presumed dead for fifteen years only to find out that they were trapped in a portrait" Theo stated,
"It felt weird to learn that you were always on the light side, and were spying on the Slytherin house" Draco replied with a smirk. Theo looked uncomfortable,
"Even though my parents were well into the dark arts, I never enjoyed it. Like all of my family, I was forced to study them, but I never actually wanted anything to do with them. When I came to Hogwarts I found the opportunity to seek help from Dumbledore and also to help out other students" Theo explained,
"So you were never blood prejudiced?" Draco asked, Theo shook his head,
"No. I figured that anyone who was able to do magic should be allowed to, if they were born with the ability to do magic, then what right does anyone have to say that they can't?"
"I never really thought about it that way" Blaise admitted, "I mean I was never blood prejudiced, and didn't believe in Voldemort's ideas, but I never really had a reason as to my own opinions"
"Well when you think about it, what is the difference between a muggle and a squib? Neither can do magic and yet most squibs are from pureblood families, a few are from halfblood families, but, pureblood families have the highest rate of squib births" Theo commented,
"But I have never heard about any squibs in the pureblood families" Draco stated,
"That's because most of the old pureblood families don't have them. As soon as a child from a pureblood family is discovered to be a squib, the child is killed and everyone's memory altered to hide the fact" Theo stated softly,
"What?" Draco and Blaise asked aghast,
"It only happened for the families deep into the dark arts, they didn't want to live with the embarrassment of having a child who was a squib, so they kill them and pretend that they never existed. That's why I never wanted to practice the dark arts. Before my parents had me they had two other children, twins, both my sister and brother were born squibs, so my parents took them to Voldemort for him to kill. It showed their devotion to his cause, and allowed him to create an example of them"
"How did you find out?" Blaise asked quietly,
"I found my father's pensieve when I was ten, just before I got my Hogwarts letter" Theo replied, "Draco do you realize how lucky you are to have the parents that you do. If Voldemort had chosen me for his heir, my parents would have handed me over to him. Yours went through a huge charade, risking their lives, just to keep you safe with them" he added,
"Yeah Theo, I do realize how lucky I am to have parents like mine, never really thought about it much, and I have been having a hard time acclimatizing to the fact that I have loving happy parents. But what you have just told me has helped me to understand the danger they put themselves in, just for me. Its really quite humbling. And then to top it off there's the whole Granger thing. What is it about me that would cause the girl whose life I made a living hell, to give me more than a third of her blood?"
"Did you ask her?" Blaise asked,
"Yeah, she said that there were many reasons, but that she didn't fell quite up to explaining them to me yet, though she said that she would someday, maybe"
"Hermione really isn't that bad once you get to know her, she's not snobby, though she tends to be a little bossy at times, but then again, who can blame her when Potter and Weasley aren't exactly the most studious guys" Theo stated with a laugh,
"That's true. And I'm sick of all the fighting that goes on between Slytherin and Gryffindor, I mean we all worked well together today in potions" Blaise added,
"Yeah, even Weasley was good to work with, I always thought that he was dumb, but its more that he's just lazy, except when it counts, like today. The potion was needed, so he knuckled down and did it" Draco commented,
"He and Potter both want to be Aurors" Blaise grinned, then added, "I'm thinking that it sounds like a cool job. I'm already doing all the classes needed, I might talk to Snape and see what he thinks"
"That's what I'm going to do" Theo grinned, "What about you Draco?"
"I don't really know, although after the last couple of weeks, I thought being a healer would be pretty cool, but then again I don't know, I'll talk to mum about it see what she thinks"
"Well I'm heading to bed, we have Care of Magical Creatures in the morning and I hate to think what Hagrid has for us to study" Blaise grimaced as they got to their feet and climbed the stairs to their dormitory. Draco groaned,
"As long as it's not a Manticore!"
Ok so there you have the next chapter, lol. The scene with the Marauders popped into my head when one day, and i thought, why not include it in this story? after all its been 15 years since they were all together, they have to act up a little!
Next chapter should be out soonish, though i'm not sure, depends on how much time i get to write.
Please Read and Review, no flames.