Chapter 7 Back at Hogwarts

James was waiting for them, standing beside a carriage, flagging them down. All five of them ran up to James, Sirius ahead of them all. Sirius whipped out his wand and thrust it in James's face. James threw up his hands with a smirk on his face.

"I didn't do it on purpose, mate, I swear," James said choking on his laughter. Sirius gave him one last glare and put his wand away. "I had no idea you cared so much, darling," James teased.

"Sod off, Potter," Sirius answered grumpily and threw himself in a corner seat.

"Really it's enduring," James continued, smirking. He climbed into the carriage sitting across from his friend.

"I think we'd all like a bit of an explanation, James," Mary demanded with the other three behind her. James looked them over grinning from ear to ear.

"Who'd have thought the great Lily Evans would have risked her neck to save me?" James laughed hoping to draw Sirius out of his mood.

"Shut it, Potter, before you really need saving," Lily answered with a dangerous look. James clasped his mouth closed still smiling at her. Lily glared back at him. "You gonna answer her or not?"

"Evans, make up your mind. Do you want my answer or do you want me to shut it?" James smiled.

"Answer the question!" Regulus, Mary, and Lily yelled back at him. Peter, being startled by this, climbed up into the carriage taking a seat next to the fuming Sirius.

"Alright, alright. I got there early, like unnaturally early. Mum was tired of being late so we got there an hour before everyone else, woman's insane." James rambled causing Lily to roll her eyes and Mary to demand he speed up his explanation. "So I got a compartment, and was gonna save it for you gits, but then these girls showed up. And they started asking me questions about quidditch, 'cause, you know, I'm on the team." He paused to ruffle his hair and look pointedly at Lily and Mary. "And the next thing I know the train's moving, and you two are nowhere to be found, and the girls still wanted to talk, so I stayed. And then people start buzzing about someone trying to sneak off the train, and I knew you'd want to hear about that so I went off to find you. You know the rest."

Lily placed her elbow on the carriage and rested her head in her hand trying to hide her laughter, knowing it would only irritate Sirius even more. Mary stared incredulously at him and Regulus looked almost as irate as his brother.

"We should head up to the castle," Regulus spoke climbing up into the carriage placing himself next to James.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced. James Potter." James said holding out his hand for Regulus to shake.

"Regulus Black." He said stiffly. He took his hand reluctantly and made room for Mary.

"Oh! Sirius is this your brother! I think he's grown since September. I can barely recognize him." James exclaimed trying once again to distract his friend. Sirius only grunted in response as their carriage lurched forward. James's face fell. He looked to Peter hoping he'd offer some assistance but Peter only shrugged. "Did you cut your hair? I thought you were trying to grow it out."

"Mum cut it because I snuck off to your place." Sirius accused. James's eyes narrowed thoroughly confused by his usually joking friend.

"Did you ever figure out what those mirrors were for?" James asked desperately.

"Potter, if you don't mind, I'm not in the mood for chit chat." Sirius said looking at his friend for the first time since he got into the carriage. James nodded trying to swallow down the lump in his throat. Sirius took a deep breath in order to calm himself. He no longer looked angry but deep in thought. James took this as a sign that it was alright for him to speak as long as it wasn't directly to Sirius. So James spoke to the other four, trying to be as funny as he possibly could to attract his friend but was unsuccessful. His humor helped ease the tension between the other four. They were dropped off in front of the castle's front door. They marched up the steps still chatting with each other as Sirius stayed thoughtfully silent. All troubles seemed to be gone with the others as they made their way towards the Great Hall.

"Potter, Black!" Professor McGonagall called bringing the group to a halt. "You five are the ones who tried to sneak off the train?" She asked referring Sirius's rescue squad. They nodded solemnly. "Potter, you go off to the feast. The rest of you come with me."

"Sorry Professor, but I'm sort of the cause of all this." James said shamelessly. "I should probably come with."

"Yes, I suppose so." She answered arching her brow. They followed after her too nervous to notice their empty stomachs. She took them up into her office rambling about how appalled she was by their actions along the way. She ordered them to shut the door behind them as they squeezed into her small office. "Potter, since you're the cause of all this, you start. Tell me what happened."

James told his tale from start to finish, though it was slightly different than the one he told the others. Sirius looked at him sideways through squinted eyes as if trying to see the tiny brain waves that floated around his head. James had made it seem that he had purposefully set Sirius into a frenzy, knowing that he would do something drastic. "It was all for a laugh, you see," he finished. Sirius was mystified by James's confession. He believed James's original tale completely, but the one he just told seemed to fit the situation so it no longer seemed like a ridiculous mistake. Professor McGonagall nodded thoughtfully before turning to the others.

"And what about the five of you?" She asked when she was ready.

"It was my fault, I was in on it." Sirius started. "I made them come with. I told Lily, Mary, and Peter that if they didn't come then they were terrible friends because James was in danger. And Reg came, because I'm his older brother and I told him to. Like James said it was all for a laugh."

"That's not-" Lily started.

"Yes, it is!" Sirius interrupted sending her a warning look.

"But we went willingly. We didn't have to go!" Lily surrendered turning back to their Professor.

"That is true Miss Evans, and that is why you will all be punished," McGonagall said firmly. "However, because Mr Potter and Mr Black blatantly exploited your friendship and loyalty, their punishment will be far worse." Lily huffed disappointed by the lack of justice but felt unable to help.

"Professor, if I may be so bold, I don't believe my brother deserves any punishment. You see, our mother threatened him with a severe punishment if he did not obey me while at school." Sirius argued. Regulus sat wide-eyed, shocked by his brother's lies.

"I understand Sirius, but your brother does have free will. Regulus could have easily chosen not to follow you." The Professor argued.

"But you don't know our mother," Sirius said trying to appeal to his professor's softer side. McGonagall looked at him thoughtfully for a moment.

"Ms Evans, Ms Mcdonald. You will serve detention with me for the next three Saturdays. Mr Black and Mr Potter, you'll be with Madam Hooch helping her give the first years flying lessons every Friday, and on your Saturdays, you'll help Hagrid with his tasks, a month for each. 100 points will be taken from Gryffindor. Each of you parents will be written to explaining the situation. Mr Black… 20 points from Slytherin for your compliance. I hope you all understand the gravity of what you have done." McGonagall concluded. Regulus nodded and quietly said his thanks, relieved that he would not be facing the wrath of his mother. "Mr Potter and the elder Mr Black stay. They rest of you may go and enjoy your meal." The four of them rose, thanked their professor, and went on their way to enjoy the feast. Professor McGonagall eyed the boys in front of her for a moment before reaching behind her and pulling out a round tin box.

"I don't want you boys to go hungry, but I know you're lying and I intend to get to the bottom of this no matter how long it takes. Keep in mind that I am very angry with you two. You put other people's lives in danger and this is in no way a treat." Professor McGonagall began. The boys nodded in response. "Have a biscuit." They looked her incredulously before taking one as she asked. She waited patiently for the boys to finish their snack before continuing. "Now that you have some food in your stomachs and your brains can work properly, why don't you tell me what happened."

"Off the record?" James asked. Sirius smirked knowing that would never happen.

"No, I'm afraid I can't do that," McGonagall answered.

"Then we're sticking with our story," Sirius said folding his arms across his chest. James smiled at his friend glad to have him on his side.

"Your story doesn't make sense. James says you didn't know, you say you did. Which is it?" The professor asked. They glanced at each other before answering.

"We all know I couldn't think of a plan that brilliant by myself." James laughed.

"Don't sell yourself short, mate. I could have never done it without you. We'll be legends for this, best prank in a century." Sirius grinned.

"This is not your sort of prank," McGonagall said firmly. "You would never purposefully put your friends in danger. You're both bright boys, I assume you know what's been going on around you."

"Of course we do," Sirius responded.

"That's part of the joke," James added

"They were all stupid enough to walk into danger like that." Sirius laughed.

"Enough. You two are not malicious and I seriously doubt that something happened, in the short period we've been away from each other, substantial enough to have changed that." McGonagall said.

"That's not the face Sirius makes when he doubts something. It's more of a pout. Like this." James said squinting his eyes and pouting his lip. Sirius roared with laughter.

"Fine," McGonagall said irritably. "If you truly did this. If you truly put your friends' and your family's life in danger, for a silly prank, then I'm afraid your punishments are not severe enough. James, you will be suspended from quidditch for the rest of the season. Sirius, you are to help the house-elves clean the dishes for a week."

"What!" James exclaimed. Sirius did not seem shocked at all by the added punishment. "You can't take me off the team!"

"I can and I have, Potter. Now if you have nothing further to say about the event that occurred on the train you may leave." McGonagall said finally.

"Yes, Professor," Sirius said standing and gesturing his friend to follow. James seemed to have lost the ability to move his jaw for it stayed open as they walked out of her office and into the nearly empty corridor. Peter was waiting for them sitting against the wall.

"What happened?" Peter asked concerned about the look on James's face.

"She took me off the Quidditch team!" James exclaimed. "Quidditch! She loves Quidditch and now she's put us in jeopardy of losing the next match. They'll never find another chaser in time! We'll lose the house cup!"

"James, just go back in there and tell her what happened," Sirius said. James looked at Sirius and seemed to regain some sense of himself.

"No, you'll get in more trouble and you might not be able to help your brother this time. Gryffindor will survive without me." He said gravely.

"I hope so, we don't want the whole team mad at you for letting them down. They might not let you on next year." This seemed to set James back but only for a moment.

"No, they'll win," James said definitely. Sirius and James turned and made their way towards the great hall.

"Wait!" Peter called. "How interested would you guys be, if I told you I saw Wilkes sneak off with Rosier and Malfoy into an empty classroom."

"Very interested," James said as he and Sirius turn on their heels to face their friend.

"It happened only a few moments ago," Peter added.

"We need the cloak," Sirius said. James pulled the cloak out of the pocket of his robes.

"Lead the way, Pete," James smirked before throwing the cloak over the three of them. They crept along the wall of the corridor with Peter in the lead. Once they reached the empty classroom Peter saw them enter James cracked the door open as silently as he could. Sirius stood on his tiptoes to see over James's head and Peter knelt on the ground to see between his legs.

"If you're going to do this Rosier, you need to be all in, no hesitations." Lucius Malfoy spoke to the third year.

"I'm in." Rosier's voice sounded steady and sure, a perfect reflection of what face showed. "Do you really have the…?" He asked gesturing to his left arm.

"Show him, Wilkes," Malfoy ordered. Geoffrey Wilkes stepped up blocking the boys' view, but it was easy to assume what Wilkes showed him. James looked back at Sirius sharing a look of brazen disbelief. Rosier made a noise that was an odd mixture of fear and excitement. James started to back up as Wilkes turned around, seeming to forget that he was wearing the cloak. He shut the door in time so Wilkes did not see that it was opened, but the three boys were already in such a panic they started to run down the corridor towards the Great Hall wanting nothing more than to be engulfed by a sea of witnesses.

"Do you really think he had the mark?" Peter whispered as they walked along the tables trying to find an empty spot.

"Shh. We can't talk about this now." James hushed. Sirius looked up and down the Slytherin table in search of his brother. "He's there," James told him, pointing to the Ravenclaw table. Regulus was indeed sitting head to head with a group of Ravenclaws. Sirius sighed in relief and pulled his friends to an empty spot at the Gryffindor table. The Great Hall was alive with bouncing children all talking excitedly about what happened over the Christmas holiday. No one seemed to have any reason to be in any state of panic except the three Gryffindor boys. They wanted nothing more than to be tucked safely away in their dorm room, far away from the Slytherin table. However, they had to keep up appearances for their already suspicious professor, so they stayed. Peter, being a nervous eater, ate an entire plate of desserts without tasting anything. James and Sirius sat silently glaring at the Slytherin table, their minds whirling with the disastrous scenarios that might come from having death eaters attending their school, too nervous to even think of food. When the headmaster dismissed them they were the first on their feet. They fought their way through the crowd and ran up the stairs towards Gryffindor tower. Thankfully James had gotten the password from a prefect on the train. They dashed their way to the dormitories and locked themselves in their room. The three boys collapsed against the door finally feeling safe.

"How could this happen?" asked a panting Peter.

"I don't know," James whispered with sweat streaming down his forehead.

"What does this mean for Hogwarts? Does this mean he's won?" Peter asked his voice raising an octave.

"I don't know," James said firmly demanding silence. James took a moment to catch his breath then whipped his forehead and stood up beginning to pace. "Sirius, you keep up with all this. What do you think?" He said turning to face his friend. Sirius looked up at him shocked to be asked for his opinion.

"I don't know. He's definitely getting stronger. I never thought he'd be able to infiltrate Hogwarts though." Sirius answered. Peter started chewing nervously on his fingers.

"You said he recruits young, just last term you said it," James reminded.

"Yes, but I never thought he'd use children. I mean Malfoy I get. He's seventeen, he's married. But Rosier, he's in our year. What the hell can he do?" Sirius argued bringing his legs closer to his chest.

"Well, I doubt he's gonna give him the mark," James added turning to pace again.

"Maybe we should tell Dumbledore about this, maybe he doesn't know," Sirius said.

"I don't think there's anything that goes on in this school Dumbledore doesn't know about. Besides, how would we tell him? He's busy," James said dismissing the idea.

"McGonagall then. She's deputy Headmistress," Sirius continued.

"She won't believe us. After what just happened she's not likely to let us off easy for falsely accusing someone of being a Death Eater," James argued.

"Then we'll get them to show her somehow," Sirius countered.

"They can hide the mark with magic, there's no way that would work," James told him.

"We can't just do nothing!" Sirius said getting to his feet.

"I don't plan on doing nothing," James responded facing his friend once more. They paused for a moment then a look crossed their faces. A look that Peter had seen many times before.

"What? What is it? What are you guys planning?" Peter demanded.

"The professors won't help us, Pete," James explained. "We've got to stop them."

"Stop them from what? We don't even know what they're planning or if they're planning. Or if it has anything to do with Hogwarts," Peter argued.

"So we'll watch them. And if we find out they're planning anything, we stop it," Sirius smirked.

"We're only third years. We can't go up against a load of Death Eaters," Peter argued.

"We're the best in our year!" Sirius defended.

"I reckon we're even better than them. Wilkes was practically cowering when we met him in November," James laughed.

"Relax, Peter. Just think of it as a game. It's all in the name of fun," Sirius said sitting next to his friend again. James quickly followed, throwing an arm around Peter.

"In the name of fun? They're called Death Eaters! As in they eat death!" Peter exclaimed. James and Sirius laughed. "It's not funny! I don't want to die."

"We won't let you die, you oaf," James told him still laughing.

"Yeah, we've got your back. All for one and one for all." Sirius added.

"All for what?" Peter asked.

"Muggle book, nevermind it doesn't matter. The point is, we've got your back just like you have ours," Sirius promised.

"'Till the end," James added.

"Even past then. We'll be watching you from the heavens, laughing at you for blowing up the greenhouse again." Sirius laughed.

"Unless there're Death Eaters," James added.

"Right, then we'll throw a party," Sirius joked. Peter laughed along with them this time.

"Remus is never going to agree to this," Peter said whipping his face, he hadn't realised he'd been crying.

"Yeah, he will. You've heard him talk about the war. It's all 'unjust' and weird stuff like that," James said.

"He talks funny sometimes," Peter said nodding in agreement.

"It's 'cause he spends so much time with old people," Sirius joked.

They ended up lining up their mattresses in the centre of the room and magically suspending their sheets above them, making a sanctuary for the three of them. They ate the rest of their Christmas treats as they spent the rest of the night planning their attacks on the newly found Death Eaters. Peter eventually came to relax due to James's and Sirius's masks of confidence. What either of them never came to admit, even when Peter fell asleep, was that they were scared out of their wits.

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