Disclaimer: All rights go to JK Rowling. Anything you don't recognize is mine.
Updated as of 4/4/2019.
Chapter Eight
The Marauders' Obstreperous Scavenger Hunt
or
The M.O.S.H.
"I cannot believe them!"
Cassie was startled awake when she heard the dormitory door slam open. Heavy footsteps stomped across the wooden floors as she lay in bed still and sighed when she realized that she would not be able to go back to sleep now.
Drawing back the curtains of her four-poster, she peered out to see Lily pacing angrily around their dorm, her face flushed and her eyes bright.
"Such a blatant disregard for school rules!" she ranted. Cassie saw the dressing Marlene edge out of the redhaired witch's way as Alice met her eyes from across the room, mouthing what the hell? Cassie just shrugged as Lily went on.
"How Lupin ever became a prefect is beyond me! I expected better of him this year, but of course, where Potter is concerned…"
She shook her head, red hair flying, and Cassie finally summoned enough courage to ask, "Um, what's going on?"
Lily whirled on her. Cassie shrank back into her sheets as Lily thrust a piece of parchment at her. "This."
Cassie hesitantly took the paper as if afraid it would burn her. Lily continued to fume, muttering under her breath. Marlene and Alice squished on either side of Cassie to get a look at the paper, where lurid green writing flashed out at them as she began to read to herself.
Greetings, fellow troublemakers and rule-breakers of Hogwarts!
Tired of being a perfect goody two-shoes? Sick of Prefects and Heads telling you what to do? Stuck wishing you could be more like the devilishly handsome and brilliantly mischievous Marauders?
Well, we have the perfect solution!
Cassie could feel a grin threatening to come on. She chanced a glance at Lily, already seeing what had pissed her off so royally as she continued to read.
For one week, and one week only, we (yes, WE) give you all full permission to wreak havoc and mayhem upon this castle. But how, you may ask? Why, by breaking every school rule in a scavenger hunt, of course!
"But isn't that…against the rules?"
The point exactly, lads and ladies.
"But why would we break the rules?"
To become a legend like the Marauders themselves; to win over the heart of a cheeky lass or gentle-lad with your stunning display of disregard for authority (a 100% guaranteed way to give off that "rebel-by-day-lover-by-night" aura); to let loose and have fun; to win prizes (examples being: Honeydukes sweets, Zonko's merchandise, a date with one of the aforementioned exceptionally handsome Marauders…) Indeed, the possibilities are endless.
"But what if we get caught?"
Never fear, fellow students. Just tell 'em the Marauders sent you.
"Couldn't anyone just turn you in?"
Not a chance! Anyone who reads these papers and attempts to tell a staff member or other rule-abiding body will be subject to a rather nasty variation of the Furnunculus Hex that as of yet has no cure. Therefore, it is ill-advised to tattle.
For a complete set of rules and rewards and to receive your first clue for the scavenger hunt, please see the Marauders: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.
Let the games begin!
Cassie finished reading and looked up, unable to bite back a chuckle at the scandalized look Lily was giving her.
"This is not a laughing matter, Cassie!" she cried, stamping her foot. Cassie ducked her head as her laughs threatened to overwhelm her. "These blithering idiots are setting this whole school up for detentions, and rule-breaking, and—"
"Fun?" she supplied, raising her head and looking Lily in the eye when she stopped, frowning down at her. Cassie shook her head, gesturing to the parchment. "C'mon, Lily, it's just a laugh. Nothing serious is going to come from this."
Lily stared at her as if seeing her for the first time.
"Of course you would support them in this escapade," she said, crossing her arms. "But just because you and Remus Lupin fancy each other doesn't mean—"
"Bloody Merlin, what?" Cassie exclaimed, blanching, though her cheeks immediately began to flare when all the girls turned on her with half-excited, half-exasperated looks. "You – you think Remus and I…what?"
"Don't play dumb with us!" Marlene squealed, nudging her shoulder. "We've noticed the two of you growing closer!"
"Half the school has," Alice muttered. Cassie made a rasping noise in the back of her throat. "C'mon, Cass, why else would he have come to us saying he was worried about you?"
This brought Cassie up short. "He what?"
Alice rolled her eyes as Lily and Marlene groaned. "Yesterday, when you left the Great Hall. He came up to us and asked what had happened. Nearly pined like a kicked puppy, too."
"You've got it all wrong," Cassie said, numb with shock. "We're definitely…not like that…"
"Give us details!" Marlene said, scooting closer to her on the bed and gazing at her wistfully. "When did it start? When did you realize you liked him?"
Cassie scrambled off the bed, suddenly feeling like her head was on fire.
"I do not fancy Remus Lupin, and he does not fancy me!" she shouted as she ran for the washroom. "You'll forgive me if I'd rather not be interrogated the rest of the morning by my deranged, delusional friends!"
And with that, she slammed the washroom door shut behind her, turning on a shower full-blast to escape the mad giggling coming from the other room.
When would her embarrassment ever end? It seemed her whole life was one fat, colossal joke. She slid down the wall to sit on the tiled floor, clutching her face in her hands as tears threatened to build.
Everything was going so wrong. She'd wanted this year to be smooth sailing, to go back to being the invisible girl no one ever looked twice at. She'd wanted the whispers to stop, the rumors to dissipate, the stares to end. She just wanted to be left alone, dammit!
She buried her head in her knees, wishing Sirius Black had never helped her on the platform, that James Potter had never asked for her quill, that Remus Lupin had never been so kind to her and for everyone to see that kindness as attraction. She wished her brother had never written her, that he'd never left, that she could have convinced him to stay, if only to give her the illusion of a semi-normal life. As selfish as it sounded, she blamed him for getting her into this mess in the first place, for making her a target for gossip, and for others to look down on her with pity and relief that they were not in her place. She just wanted things to go back to normal.
Biting back her anger and hurt, she got up and turned the shower off, listening for the other girls' voices. When she heard nothing, she opened the door cautiously, and found to her relief that they had already gone to breakfast. Sighing, she got ready as slowly as she could before finally descending the staircase into the common room.
Most students were still at breakfast when she entered the nearly empty room, but to her great horror, the Marauders were sitting in their usual seats by the fireplace. She fought down the sudden urge to turn tail and flee, continuing to the portrait hole and hoping they wouldn't notice her.
Act natural. Don't draw attention. You are one with the wallpaper.
No sooner had she thought this then her bag strap got caught on a chair and toppled it over with a very noticeable crash. She internally screamed when she felt their eyes land on her, struggling to put the chair in its rightful place and run before they could realize it was her.
"Nice going, Alderfair."
Biting back a whimper, she turned to see Potter smirking at her, and her face flushed with mortification when she met Remus's eyes before quickly looking away.
"Thanks, Potter," she said flatly. "I have a knack for sweeping things off their feet, I guess."
Pettigrew snorted at this. When Cassie darted her gaze to him, he actually gave her a tiny grin instead of averting his eyes, like he usually did.
All right, maybe Pettigrew isn't so bad. The others can stay away, though.
"What's the hurry?" Remus asked, cocking his head as he studied her, and Cassie suddenly became very interested in the carpet.
"Ah, didn't want to miss breakfast," she said, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. Black let out the tiniest of snorts and she turned her glare on him.
He sat languidly in his chair, feet propped on the table and skimming through the pages of Quidditch Today, but he looked up when he felt her gaze, raising an arrogant brow. "Problem?"
"Yeah, one, and it's you," she retorted.
"Is that so?" he drawled.
"Get a life, Black," she snapped, rolling her eyes. He gave her a nasty smile.
"Already have one, and it's not too shabby," he said coldly. "Might I suggest a better insult next time?"
She opened her mouth to shoot something rather unsavory back at him, but Remus broke in before she could.
"Oh, bugger, I forgot my Charms book!" he said loudly, leaping to his feet. "Cassie, d'you mind helping me look for it?"
He gave her a meaningful look. Everything in her screamed to say no and make a run for the Great Hall, but she found herself following him away from the Marauders, barely even noticing when they started up the staircase leading to the boys' dormitories.
The going was silent, and it was with a faint register of surprise that he led her into the dormitory he shared with the other Marauders. He shut the door behind her, giving her a few seconds to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room and take in her surroundings.
It was cleaner than she expected it to be, considering the four boys who shared it. Clothes were folded and hung and the beds were at least attempted to be made, though the candy wrappers and loose pieces of parchment strewn about detracted from the cleanliness a bit. She could easily make out whose bed was whose just from the personal items around them and she studied them in interest, despite her nervousness at being alone with Remus.
The bed nearest her on the left side was obviously Pettigrew's; it was decorated with pictures of him and the Marauders and two mousy, fair-haired adults who had to be his parents. She assumed the pictures were from a Muggle camera, as they remained stationary, frozen forever in time. Chocolate Frog cards and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum wrappers littered the bedside table.
The next bed had to be Potter's. Quidditch posters and various team flags were hung on the wall, with the largest banner being that of their Gryffindor House. She could see the handle of a broomstick poking out from underneath the bed, sleek and well-maintained. Black's bed was on the other side of Potter's, and she frowned in confusion at how…Muggle he had tried to make his space.
Unmoving posters of Muggle rock bands wearing too much eyeliner and leather stared back at her, and there were a few pictures of simpering, scantily-dressed Muggle girls that she pulled a face at. There was only one picture of him arm-in-arm with the Marauders, taken in front of the school. She watched them laugh and ruffle each other's hair in the shot, her annoyance relenting slightly when she saw Black amongst them, looking the happiest of them all. There were no pictures of his family.
Remus moved from the door and sat on the edge of his own bed, impeccably made but littered with books and other miscellaneous items that he cleared out of the way before patting the space next to him. Cassie just gave him a haughty look.
"If you're going to lecture me about Black, save your breath," she said, crossing her arms. Remus smiled ruefully.
"I'm not going to lecture you about Sirius," he said, watching her with glittering green eyes. "Though I will say that you should be careful: Sirius likes to play dirty, and anyone who is even remotely on his level will have a serious challenge on their hands when it comes to playing 'who is snobbier.'"
Cassie made a face at the unintentional pun, only sniffing disdainfully.
"I don't know what his problem is, anyway," she muttered. "I've barely spoken to him and he looks at me like I personally threatened to carve him up and eat him for dinner."
Remus snorted, leaning back against his headboard and running a hand through his sandy hair.
"Sirius is…a wary bloke," he said. Cassie resisted the urge to scoff. "He doesn't immediately take to new people, and, well…"
He trailed off, suddenly uncertain, and that was when it hit her. "He doesn't trust me."
She said it so bluntly Remus looked up in shock, his lips parting, but she just shook her head, suddenly feeling as if she had been doused in ice water.
"He thinks I'm like my brother," she continued bitterly. "He doesn't want me around because he thinks I'll end up like – like one of them."
Her voice broke on the last word, and Remus jumped up from the bed, moving over to her as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"He doesn't think that you're like your brother, Cassie," he said. She sensed him reach out as if to touch her before letting his hand fall back to his side. "Sirius…he comes from a rotten family. He's learned to put up this guard around anyone he isn't familiar with. It comes off as cold and distrustful sometimes, yeah, but he doesn't think you're bad, Cassie. If anything, he sees himself in you, in what you're going through, and I think it scares him a little bit."
Cassie paused, letting Remus's words sink in as she thought about what he said. She knew about the Blacks – mostly from secondhand knowledge her parents gave her – and she vaguely remembered meeting some of them from childhood dinner parties. They supported You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters, being pure-bloods such as her parents, and she also knew that that particular family had spawned many Dark witches and wizards through the ages. But Sirius was a Gryffindor, as was she. Remus's words suddenly clicked in her mind.
"That…makes sense," she admitted quietly. She shot him a dark look. "Why do you have to be so reasonable?"
He chuckled. "Someone has to be if I'm left to deal with you lot."
She glared. "I resent that."
"Of course you do." He looked highly amused, though his eyes were still too serious. She suddenly remembered why she'd dreaded being alone with him earlier and hastily dropped her gaze, brushing invisible dirt off her robes.
A lengthy silence began to grow between them, and Cassie suddenly itched to say something. Not even pausing to think about her words, she blurted out, "The girls think you fancy me" at the same time he said, "So what happened yesterday?"
Cassie gaped, her eyes widening in horror when he stared back, mouth open, his face and neck flushing red.
Let me die. Oh, Merlin, if you have any mercy, please smite me on the spot.
"Erm, you know, let's just forget I said that," she squeaked, forcing a very pained smile. "Professor Kettleburn said our class might study bowtruckles today, and I think that's incredibly boring, don't you? But you're not in Care of Magical Creatures, so you probably don't care, but I—"
"Cassie," he said, holding up a hand to cut off her rambling, and she felt like sinking into the floor when she heard how strangled his voice was. "Look, I don't know how to say this, but, er…I don't. Fancy you, that is."
Instant relief coursed through her, but at the same time, she felt a little offended, wondering why he wouldn't. Realizing how petty and stupid that thought was, however, she brushed it off, trying not to look too happy.
"Oh, thank Merlin," she said, before mentally slapping her forehead at her callous words. "I mean, not that it would've been a problem if you did! And I'm not trying to sound so relieved, you're attractive and all, but still, it would've been weird. Not weird! That came out so wrong. I just meant—"
She shut her eyes to block out his increasingly bemused face, her cheeks feverish and mortification threatening to drag her into the abyss. Stop talking. Please, just shut up.
"I believe we've established our feelings enough on the matter, Cassie," he said. He sounded like he was on the verge of laughing, which only made her cringe more. "Let's not strain ourselves further, yeah?"
Cassie opened her eyes to glare at him. "Why are you laughing at me?"
To prove her point, he chuckled and raised his hands in defense when her look turned acidic. "I'm not! Cassie, I swear I'm not. Just…this whole thing is absurd, really. I don't understand how girls interpret feelings based on the smallest of things. They can make up an entire convoluted story based on one tiny gesture."
"Like someone asking your friends if you're okay." She suddenly remembered Alice's words from earlier about how Remus had approached them, worried about her well-being. She was touched and apprehensive at the same time, knowing he was going to ask her about the whole ordeal.
He nodded slowly, as if sensing her hesitation. "Yeah, like that."
Another silence stretched between them. Cassie bit her lip, uncertain. She wanted to talk about it, to get someone's advice, but she couldn't bring herself to admit that her brother had written her to the other girls. It just didn't feel right. But she recalled the night she'd had dinner with the Marauders and how Remus had talked to her so earnestly, and decided that if anyone could understand, then maybe it would be him.
"My brother wrote me a letter," she said finally. "It was so strange and unexpected. We hadn't communicated at all since he left in June, but he asked if he could see me in Hogsmeade next weekend, so he could give me my birthday present." She shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. "I was just so…surprised. And angry. I didn't know what to do. I still don't, really." She shrugged. "I guess it's just complicated."
Remus nodded thoughtfully. "Well, do you want to see him? Honestly?"
Cassie opened her mouth to respond 'no', but the way Remus was looking at her gave her pause. Did she want to see Will? Even his name sent anger running through her, but she thought past that, looking instead to what it would be like to see him. She could talk to him, away from their family, away from everyone else – maybe she could get an explanation for why he was doing this. Maybe she could change his mind. A dart of hope planted itself firmly in her chest and she looked back to Remus, knowing her answer.
"I do, yeah," she said. "I mean, it wouldn't exactly hurt, would it?"
He shrugged. "It's up to you, Cassie. You have to make this choice for yourself."
She nibbled on her bottom lip, nodding slightly. "I'll give him a chance, then."
Remus gave her a look she couldn't decipher, but before she could ask his opinion he said, "Did you mention something about a birthday?"
"Yes," she said warily. "I'm turning sixteen on the thirtieth."
He gave her a wolfish grin. "You know, Sirius's birthday is the third of November. Four days after yours."
Cassie scowled at the mention of Black. "So?"
He shrugged. "Well, we Marauders know how to throw a party when the occasion calls for it, and with two birthdays in the same week…"
She shook her head. "Oh, no. I am not having a joint birthday party with Sirius Black."
"We'll see about that." He grinned, taking a step closer to her. She looked up into his face, up until then unaware of just how tall he was; she was on the taller side for a girl, but he stood at least a head above her. "You'll learn soon enough that I can be very persuasive."
He took another step, but the intense spell was broken when Cassie purposefully stepped on his foot, hard. He cursed and stumbled back as she laughed.
"Nice try, Lupin," she said, "but you're going to have to do better than that if you want me to party with you and your mates."
"A deal, then," he said. "Complete a task for the scavenger hunt and I won't hound you to join us. Fail to do so and you're stuck with us."
"You realize that Lily is out for your head because of that, yeah?" she asked, sidestepping the challenge with ease. "She'll see you lot destroyed when this is all over."
"Something James must be wetting himself over, I bet," he cracked, and they shared a grin at the image it provided before Cassie shook her head.
"C'mon, Moony," she said sarcastically, turning to the dormitory door and missing the unease that passed over his face when she used his nickname. "I'm starving. Let's get something to eat."
They descended the staircase and the other three Marauders looked up from where they were still seated in the common room, though she took extra care not to glance over at Black this time around.
"What took so long?" Potter complained. "Were you too busy snogging each other to even think about your poor, hungry mate?"
Emboldened by her talk with Remus, Cassie slapped Potter on the back of the head, earning an incredulous scowl from him and a nod of approval from Remus.
"Stuff it, Potter," she said good-naturedly as Pettigrew laughed at Potter's dumbfounded expression.
"What was that for?" he demanded.
"Think of it as payback." She shrugged. "You know, for 'borrowing' my quill."
He shot Remus a glare. "I blame you for this."
"Also for being a git!" she called over her shoulder, leading them out of the common room with Potter grumbling all the way.
True to Cassie's rambling prediction, bowtruckles were agonizingly boring. Besides the occasional bid for freedom the tiny twig-like creatures tried to make and the numerous scratches and bites she'd received from the one she was supposed to be drawing, all they did was sulk and make odd chirping noises, pulling faces at her that she returned childishly as she labeled the parts Professor Kettleburn had instructed them to.
"Will you quit that?" Lily admonished when she looked up from her diagram to see Cassie and the bowtruckle sticking their tongues out at each other. "You're just going to antagonize it even more."
"Little Leaf wouldn't do that to me," she said, looking away from the bowtruckle to gaze imploringly at her partner. "We have a very sacred bond."
Lily just shook her head. "You named it?"
"It was either Little Leaf or Antonio."
"You're a very odd person, Cassie."
"So I've been told."
They went back to sketching Little Leaf, but Cassie sighed and stopped drawing when she felt Lily's eyes trained on her for the millionth time since breakfast.
She knew the girls had been in fits when she walked in with the Marauders, but when she had sat with them to eat, they hadn't questioned her about it, which she found strange. They were dying to interrogate her, though, she could tell; but she'd left before they could, running by the Owlery before class to send a hastily scrawled reply to her brother along with Osbourne.
Will –
The overlook by the Shrieking Shack. 11:00. Don't be late.
With that gruesome task out of the way, she'd spent her day in relative peace – especially since she didn't have to deal with the Marauders that much, as they didn't sit together in any of the day's classes. Care of Magical Creatures was even less pressure, as Alice and Marlene had Divination and she'd learned that Remus and Black had Ancient Runes together that block, leaving her with Lily, Potter, and Pettigrew (though the latter two knew to stay away where the Prefect was involved).
"I'm starting to think you're drawing me instead of Little Leaf here," Cassie said finally, turning to Lily and raising a brow when the redhaired girl cringed.
"Sorry," she said. "I just…I dunno. You seem so different lately."
Cassie lifted both her brows now in speculation. Lily's words reminded her of Avery's from yesterday, and she grimaced at the memory, wondering why everyone was seeing her so "differently" now.
"How so?" she asked coolly.
"I mean, the Marauders, Cass?" Lily cast a surreptitious look at Potter and Pettigrew, where they were playing a game of monkey-in-the-middle with a pebble and their bowtruckle, laughing hysterically. "When did you start associating with them?"
Cassie shrugged. "Why's it so astonishing?"
"Because they're…them," she said, suddenly flustered as she gestured vaguely with her hands. "And you're…you."
"Thanks," Cassie said drily. "Like I needed the reminder."
Lily's face turned as red as her hair. "Cassie! That's not what I meant. I just, well…"
"Well, what?" Cassie said, her patience wearing thin. "Am I not allowed to talk to them? Is it forbidden?"
Lily sighed. "I just want you to be careful, Cassie. They're bad news. The things Sev tells me about what they do to him, and others…"
Cassie frowned. "Severus Snape? What does he know?"
Lily looked affronted. "That Potter and Black bully him mercilessly!" she cried. "They pick on him just because they can, and I don't think you should be hanging around with people who do those sorts of things!"
"I can make judgments for myself, thanks," she said irritably. "And it's not like I'm hanging around with Potter and Black; I'm only friends with Remus."
Lily shook her head, her expression worried, though Cassie could tell she still wasn't convinced. "I don't want to fight over this, Cassie. But I don't want to see you get hurt."
"I don't want to fight either," she said. "And I appreciate your concern, Lils, but I think you should have a little more faith in me to make decisions for myself."
"Of course," she said, placing her hand on top of Cassie's and giving her a gentle smile.
Cassie smiled back, but leapt to her feet when she felt a tiny set of teeth bite into her shin. She let out a frustrated yell when she saw Little Leaf clinging to her stocking, his teeth gnawing on her leg through the fabric.
"Little Leaf!" she cried in dismay, grabbing the bowtruckle by his twiggy torso and pulling him off. "How could you?"
Professor Kettleburn hobbled over, yelling something about manhandling the creatures inappropriately. The bowtruckle gave her a smirk that was oddly reminiscent of Potter's, who was rolling on the ground a few feet away, laughing his head off.
I'm going to kill him.
After dinner, Cassie was cornered in the Entrance Hall by Alice. She prepared herself for an onslaught of questions, but was taken aback when the other girl dragged her out of sight of the exiting students going back to their common rooms.
"I need your help," Alice whispered, frantic.
Cassie gave her a puzzled look. "Okay. Why are we whispering?"
"Because this is strictly between you and me," she replied, her round face oddly serious, and Cassie had a feeling she wasn't going to like whatever she had to say. "Not even Lily and Mar can know."
This piqued Cassie's interest. "Why not?"
Alice suddenly looked pained as she spoke the next words. "Because I'm doing one of the tasks for the scavenger hunt."
Cassie blinked. "Er, what?"
"I know, I know, it's stupid!" she said, wringing her hands. "I shouldn't even be thinking about it! But something that stupid paper said, about being regaled as a royal prankster to those you admire…"
Cassie's eyes widened. "You want to impress Frank?"
Alice nodded, sucking in her lip, but Cassie clapped her hands together, squealing.
"This is so cute! Go for it, Al!"
She gave her a weak smile. "I want to. But I want you to do it with me."
This brought Cassie up short. "Come again?"
"Think about it, Cassie!" she gushed. "I get to show off for Frank, and you could win a date with Remus! It's perfect!"
"Except for the slight problem of me not being remotely interested in Remus," she said, suddenly less enthusiastic than before. Alice gripped her arm.
"Then do it for me!" she pleaded. "Please, just one task. I already got my hint from Pettigrew today – we can do it tonight!"
"What's the task?" she asked warily.
Alice dug out a slip of parchment from her pocket and handed it over. Printed in the same bright green ink as the parchment from this morning was the task: At precisely 1:13 in the morning, one must sneak out of bed and find the kitchens. Once there, the hunter/huntress must procure one slice of lemon meringue pie, take three bites from it, and bring it back to the Marauders as proof that the task is completed. Rules broken: sneaking around the castle after hours, raiding the off-limits kitchens. Thanks for participating in The Marauders' Obstreperous Scavenger Hunt (M.O.S.H.)!
"This is ridiculous," Cassie said. "No one even knows where the kitchens are."
"There's a hint on the back," Alice said. Cassie turned the paper over.
"Pears are the most ticklish of fruits. Wonder how many Hufflepuffs know the secret to get their loots?" she read out loud, before looking to Alice in bafflement. "What the bloody hell does that mean?"
"No idea," she said, but pouted when Cassie rolled her eyes. "This is why I need you! I only have today to complete the task, or else Pettigrew said I'm disqualified from the game!"
Cassie couldn't believe this; it seemed like every step she made to not get involved with the Marauders only sucked her in deeper, but she knew she couldn't back out on Alice. Damn those eyes of hers.
"Fine," Cassie said reluctantly.
Alice jumped up and down in excitement, squealing, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
She hugged Cassie tightly, making the other girl grimace, but both of them were too preoccupied to notice the four boys watching them from afar on the pretense of stopping and pretending to talk while Peter mimed tying his shoelaces.
"She's in," Remus said with a mischievous grin, his sharp ears making out what had been Cassie's very reluctant agreement. James rubbed his hands together.
"Excellent," he said. "I say we bust out the cloak tonight and watch the show. As clumsy as Alderfair is, this is bound to be interesting."
"Embarrassing, more like," Sirius said, sounding bored. "But entertaining, nonetheless."
Peter nodded in agreement. "Maybe she'll run into Peeves!"
The Marauders watched the two girls ascend the staircase, heading back to the common room, and Remus started after them with a cheeky, "Only one way to find out."
Peter and James shared a gleeful grin and Sirius rolled his eyes as they followed suit, eager to see what this game had in store for one Cassie Alderfair.
Next Chapter: The Alliance
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