Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter.
Author's Note
And here is the second chapter. Like I said in the Author's Note in the original piece, those of you who've returned might remember a few scenes in here, but don't skip anything! I beg of you! I stopped trying to rush the plot line and actually took the time and let things flow. So please, oh please don't miss out on the improvements. :)
xoglowergrinox123
Chapter 2- An Unexpected Arrival
1975
It was the first day back and all the students of Hogwarts rushed into the Great Hall claiming their seats, all eager to get the sorting over with. The train ride over provided a few refreshments, but after six hours on a train many of them were completely famished. At first only a few students wandered in before the majority of the student body joined them. The hall was full of bustling and laughter with students greeting each other for the first time after the summer holidays.
The peaceful activity was cut off, however, when a young man shouted from the entrance, "You will never win, Lord of the Skies!"
Everyone's attention was directed at two young men bounding into the hall. A few groans could be heard for the crowd.
"Oh, I disagree, Black Knight. 'Tis you who will fall!" said the other with preferably messy, black hair.
The two seventh year Gryffindors waved their wands about in a fierce duel. As all of the students knew, dueling in the halls was strictly forbidden, however the sight amused the occupants of the hall, and the teachers were completely baffled as of what to do. Rather than magic like normal students, they fought with their wands as if they were swords.
"Lord of the Skies, you will die at my feet before I see you win the fair maiden's heart!" It didn't take long for everyone to realize the two duelers were indeed young Sirius Black and James Potter, both unable to control the grins on their faces as they performed.
James parried and said, "No! For I will die before I see my lady within another's arms!" He then thrust his wand between the torso and arm of the Black Night.
The Black Knight stumbled and fell to his knees. With a dramatic pause he uttered, while holding the wand protruding from his arm, "Thus, I have lost and never again shall I see those sparkling amber eyes…" Sir Black Knight sputtered and coughed, falling to the ground and finally laying still. His breathing was the only betrayal of his performance.
A more than half annoyed Remus Lupin marched into the hall before James Potter ran over to the so-called 'fair maiden' and knelt before him.
"Fair maiden, would you accept my pure heart and call it yours?" 'Lord of the Skies' asked, grabbing hold of his friend's hand and clutching it to his chest.
Startled at his friend's actions, Remus' face turned into a sneer as he regained his composure, "No! And give it a break will you? I'm no bloody maiden!"
"Fair maiden! You wound thy heart!" James Potter exclaimed clutching his chest. He stumbled back and retrieved his wand from Sirius on the ground. "And so, with this horrendous shame, let me…die!" He took his wand and thrust it between his own chest and arm, just like he had done with Sirius. And so The Lord of the Skies fell back and joined his mortal enemy, The Black Knight, in death.
In response, most in the Great Hall emitted sounds of impatience for the Marauders had been annoying the occupants of the train with their routine for the past hour. Almost everyone in the hall, with the exception of Peter Pettigrew who was clutching his sides with laughter, was becoming quite annoyed with the dramatic duo, including Remus.
Both James and Sirius sprung back on their feet and gave gracious bows, basking in the attention of their small friend. "Thank you! – You are too kind! – You shouldn't have! – You're a wonderful audience!"
At this point in time, the Headmaster stood up from his place at the teacher's table. "Thank you, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black for that engaging performance. But nevertheless, could everyone kindly find their seats so the sorting may begin?"
Riled up, Remus made his way over to the Gryffindor table, a far ways down trying to escape his brain damaged friends all the while muttering obscenities under his breath; however the three easily sauntered their way over to the angry werewolf and took their respectable places at the table.
It took a moment for everyone to quiet down, but once they all finally took their seats, Professor Dumbledore declared with a smile, "Now, let the sorting begin!"
The great oak doors opened to allow Professor McGonagall and a line of amazed first years into the Hall.
There was groan heard at the Gryffindor table. This gained a few sniggers from those nearby but most just plainly ignored Sirius Black as he slammed his head on the table. It was no secret that the infamous Black could last long without food.
"It's the same thing every year. Don't they know we would be a lot happier if they fed us before the sorting? It's my dinner time!" Sirius complained rather loudly. Many students and teachers gave him disapproving looks.
"Of course, how could I forget? We all must bow graciously to Sirius' growling stomach, otherwise he might bite us," Remus snapped.
Sirius snapped at his friend, in response to his 'dog joke' and not to mention his short temper. "What is with you today? No need to be so moody, Moony. Is it that time of month already?"
Remus was always a little sensitive for the last few days before a full moon, Sirius was well aware of this fact yet he proceeded to taunt him about it. "Well I'm sorry if not everyone loves the boy who talks to his hair every morning!"
"Quiet down about that, will you?" Sirius whispered, glancing around hoping no one heard Remus' comment. Unfortunately, a few close by were trying to control their laughter, mostly because no one wanted to be the target of Sirius' wrath. Sirius took great pride in his appearance and it just would not do to have his fellow classmates mocking him for his vanity. "Besides, I told you…it needs to be brought up in a positive environment otherwise it'll go flat. And due to all this negative energy you're emitting today, I'll never forgive you if it does."
"Oi! Will you two quiet down? McGonagall's giving us the eye and it hasn't even been past the sorting yet," James hissed.
"I can't help that I get angry when my stomach is deprived of this magical thing called food, James. Have you heard of it...no? Well I happen to be very fond of it, as I have a small metabolism and need to ingest constantly," Sirius defended.
James looked as if Sirius had grown three heads. "Deprived? Metabolism? Those are pretty big words for you, Sirius."
"Has Sirius Black actually read something besides Playboy?" Remus asked, smirking.
Sirius face turned into one of offense. "Who reads Playboy? I don't know about you, but I look at the pictures."
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me."
"For your information, Mr. Smarty Pants, I can read, you know. Like just this summer I read an article in Mrs. P's magazine, How to Cook for Deprived Children with Small Metabolisms."
Remus raised a brow at the long title.
"Give me a break. It was the only thing in the loo at the time."
Remus' expression went from amused to thoughtful. "What was Mrs. Potter's magazine doing in the bathroom anyways?"
Sirius shrugged. Peter watched the conversation unfold in front of him and not for the first time thought just how more amusing the conversations between Remus and Sirius were than muggle television.
Seeing his friend's looks, James ran his hand through his hair in embarrassment staying silent.
They looked at him with expectant faces. "Well?"
"Yeah, James. Why does your mum have a women's magazine in the bathroom?" Remus asked leaning forward, a bit too eagerly.
He looked in between his three friends, amused that they thought it was strange his mum put feminine magazines in the bathroom, but not that Sirius actually read them. Then again, Sirius never kept his nose out of other people's business, so he shouldn't have been surprised.
"Err…well –you guys know how strong-minded Mum is. One day Dad caught her going to the bathroom with a book and asked her what the bloody hell she was doing. She started yelling at him that men weren't the only ones who got to amuse themselves while on the toilet. She slammed the door and Dad just walked off muttering how mental the woman was. From then on she makes this big show of putting women's magazines and a bookshelf in the loo," he said a bit hesitantly.
The other three Marauders exchanged a serious glance before falling into fits of laughter.
"Hey, that's my mother you all are laughing at!" James exclaimed quietly. He sent an apologetic look at the teacher's table, hoping they wouldn't start yelling at them on the spot.
Remus was laughed harder when Peter fell over backwards onto the floor that tears poured from his eyes. "Sorry, mate, but I always wondered about the bookshelf full of soppy romance novels!" Sirius barked out.
Someone cleared their throat loudly from the head table, which forced them to quiet down to hysterical giggling.
James rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Bloody hell. You need guys to shut up now," he said with an anxious glance towards the teachers' table.
Seeing his friend's apprehensive looks, Sirius sobered up. "What's with you, mate? You look like a pygmy puff realizes it's gonna be used as a bludger."
"It's nothing," James replied a bit too quickly, running a hand through his hair again.
Sirius snorted. "You know, you my dear friend, I can always tell when you're lying. Now spill," his voice ordered.
James gave a sigh of defeat and lowered his voice to a soft whisper, "I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. This is my last chance to impress Lily and if that means I have to buckle down a bit, I will. So no funny business this year, and that includes getting in trouble with the teachers."
Sirius' expression changed from bewilderment to understanding to complete disbelief. "Oh come on, mate. You really think that just because you change your act this one year that she's going to run into your arms?"
"You lot didn't see her face when I showed up in the Head's Cabin. We actually had a conversation. She didn't raise her voice once!"
"I don't know, James…Evans is pretty intent on hating your guts," Peter said wearily.
Unlike the others, Remus took pity on his friend. James had been pinning after Lily Evans since first year. Even though Sirius and Peter hadn't the slightest idea why James would want to go after her in the first place, it only made sense to him that James would go for the girl who challenged everything the Marauders stood for. "Good for you, mate," was all he said, patting him on the back.
Those four words brought the grin back to James' face. "Thanks."
However Peter and Sirius didn't take the hint and continued to barrage James' decision.
"You could seriously have any girl in the school, Prongs. Why go after her?"
"All she does is nag. All the time!"
"She has no manners. We can never have one conversation without her butting in every five minutes to tell us how immature we are. She acts like I don't know how immature I am. I'm happy being immature!"
Unfortunately, none of the Marauders saw the short tempered redhead a few seats down the table, who had heard Sirius and Peter's allegations. Just as she was about to defend herself and give them a piece of her mind when James' voice .
"Listen, I know you guys don't like her, but give her a break will you? Can you blame her after all the stuff we pulled?"
"James, we're the Marauders and she's…Head Girl."
"And I'm Head Boy! Believe it or not, things are going to change this year whether Lily's involved or not and it's because I'm Head Boy. I've got responsibilities, Padfoot, Wormtail, and you're going to have to accept that I won't be involved in as many ploys!" James snapped.
"Thank you for that speech, Mr. Potter. However as glad as I am to hear how serious you are about your new position, we are in the middle of sorting our new First Years. Would you kindly glue your behind to your seat?" McGonagall's stern voice ordered.
Not realizing just how loud he'd gotten, nor that he had somehow came to a standing position, James sat down, a flush still evident on his face. After hearing James' outburst, Lily's cheeks turned a light pink as well.
The Marauders continued their conversation in hushed tones, once everyone turned their attention back to the Sorting Ceremony.
"Listen, mate. If you want to chase the girl of your dreams, go ahead. I suppose you don't have to join us in everything, but we're still going to cause trouble, whether you like it or not," Sirius said…well, seriously.
James smiled at that. He figured that would be the best compromise he would get from him. Figuratively speaking, telling Sirius that he wasn't going to prank with them anymore was like putting a wild dog on a leash – in other words, there was no chance in hell that was going to happen. "Thanks, guys."
However the touching moment was disrupted by a rather unmanly sound made by Sirius. "Holy Hell! How on earth did half of our forces become the very thing we're fighting against?"
Giving him a fearful look, James scooted an inch or two away from the squealing boy. "Okay, what's wrong with you now? Are you going in that panic mode again? Quick, Remus! Conjure a rubber band!"
Sirius grabbed James across the table like a desperate man dying of thirst. "No…well, not yet anyways. I mean how did two of The Marauders end up in positions of authority?"
Remus barked out a laugh, before covering it up with his robes, checking to see if they gained any attention from the teachers. They were probably ignoring them by this point.
Sirius looked utterly confused. "Honestly! Did Hell freeze over?"
"Nah," Peter said, waving a hand. "If Hell froze over, Lily would've said 'yes'." This received a warning glare from James, to which Peter put up his hands in a 'I-just-couldn't-help-myself' manner.
"Messrs Potter, Lupin, Black, and Pettigrew, I know you are an impatient lot, but we will ask you again. Can you please hold off on your conversation for a few more minutes as the sorting comes to a close?" the Headmaster's voice resonated throughout the hall, causing the four boys' mouths to shut. They all nodded in response.
"Very well. Minerva, you may continue," Dumbledore said as he got comfortable in his seat once more.
She gave a curt nod in thanks and cleared her throat, "Percival, Jonathan!"
The sorting was a long one. Almost twenty new students were being welcomed into their respective houses as Sirius began whining about his stomach once again, which turned into a groan as the Headmaster took his place at the podium.
"I promise to keep this short and to the point," he started, a twinkle in his eye. "There are a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce. First years should note that—"
However that was far as he reached before a blinding white light flashed through the hall.
There was a round of shrieks, followed by another when the light finally receded. For in the center of the hall between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables was a clearly injured man kneeling in what looked to be battle robes. And was that blood?
Where his robes were torn, deep cuts were clearly visible. His head was covered in a mop of grimy dark hair covering a nasty gash on his forehead, still profusely bleeding along with various scratches and burn marks across his face and arms. A pair of broken glasses rested askew on the bridge of his nose.
The teachers and Professor Dumbledore took a stand, holding their wands in defense from the mysterious stranger. How had he gotten through the wards?
The man looked around confused as he took in the students and teachers around him. He stood up, stumbling slightly. "W – What –"
However the effort seemed to be too much for him to handle. His eyes rolled in the back of his head before he collapsed to the floor in a heap.
Students gasped and screamed from all the tables as they watched him fall.
Without a second thought or word, Madam Pomfrey hurried over to him and casting a levitating charm, rushed out of the Hall with the beaten man in tow.
With a quick 'Sonorous' the headmaster gained everyone's attention within a matter of moments. Silence reigned over the students like a blanket.
"Everyone is to remain clam. This event certainly was a bump for this evening's festivities; however everything will go on as planned." With a clap, food appeared on all four tables before he continued, "Dinner is served. Professor Morgan will watch over you while Professor McGonagall and myself meet our newest guest. Professor McGonagall, please follow me." With that, Professor Dumbledore and the deputy headmistress quickly followed the medi-witch out the door.
As soon as they left, the Great Hall burst with noise. Everyone was talking about the mysterious man appearing in the middle of Hogwarts. After all, it wasn't everyday that a person was capable of apparating on Hogwarts grounds.
For once, the Marauders were silent.
"He looked like – like…" Sirius trailed off.
The Marauders looked directly at James, who looked as if he'd seen a ghost. The Head Boy glanced at the door, scratching his head uncertainly. "Me?" he practically squeaked. He coughed, clearing his throat and pulled himself together. He gave a forced laugh. "Okay, I admit we have the same glasses, but I look a whole lot prettier, don't you think?" he asked, putting on a charming smile for effect.
Remus had to roll his eyes at his friend's uncanny ability to make a serious situation into a self-absorbed comment.
Peter let out a nervous chuckle. "You sure you don't have long lost twin, Prongs?"
"Beats me," James shrugged. "What do you think, Padfoot? He doesn't look too much like me, does he?"
Sirius would have found it fascinating if there wasn't a plate of food in front of him. He honestly couldn't take the hunger anymore, so he paused for only a moment to offer a careless shrug before taking another large bite of chicken.
