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Chapter 6

Midnight Patrol

Wariness, Lily knew, was not an expression the Marauders wore often. Well, Peter maybe. But right now, on Saturday at lunch even James, Sirius, and Remus were quite obviously very concerned.

"What's going on, you lot?" asked Lily as she sat down next to James.

"Talking about Prewett and Flint," said Remus, as Chloe sat down next to him.

"Yeah, I can't even imagine what would drive someone to do what they did," said Chloe. "I've always wanted to think Slytherins really weren't all that bad, but these two certainly are."

"As are all of the death-eaters," said Marietta, sitting down next to Sirius. "And I think just about all of them are Slytherins."

"I just don't want to classify a whole house as evil," said Chloe.

"No one's asking you to," said Lupin. "Just because some members of a group are evil doesn't mean they all are."

"Wise point, Remus, but you said you were talking about Prewett and Flint. What specifically?" asked Lily.

"Well, first of all that Flint tried to Cruciatus my best mate," said Sirius.

"Do you think he'd do it to anyone else?" asked Peter.

"Well, I do think he saved it until the last round for a reason. He might have been targeting me. Or even just some prominent Gryffindor. Maybe he'd' have gone for Lily, too. Then I'd have had to find him down an empty hallway and show him that dark magic isn't the only thing that can make a person wish they hadn't faced someone in a duel," said James.

"You don't have to protect me," said Lily.

"I'd protect any of my friends," said James, and the rest of the marauders nodded in agreement.

"I don't understand why he would try to do something that would land him in Azkaban," said Marietta.

"No, he couldn't have," corrected Lily.

"What are you talking about?" asked James.

"It's in Hogwarts, a History. Ever since 1507, Hogwarts has had a special relationship with the Ministry. Nothing done by a student in Hogwarts, unless it is potentially lethal, can be punished by Azkaban. Worse that can happen is expulsion and the snapping of the wand," said Lily.

"And that includes Cruciatus?" asked James, dumbfounded.

"Absolutely. Back in the early 1500s, the head was a Slytherin. He was considering adding a Dark Arts Class to the curriculum," said Lily.

"Merlin, you know a lot," said James.

"Why don't you two get a room already?" asked Sirius.

"And why ever would they do that?" asked Marietta with fake innocence.

"So they can snog each other within an inch of their lives," answered Sirius with a grin.

"We're just friends," said James with an easy smile. "And, for now, and for as long she wants it, that's enough. Couldn't ask for a better friend," said James.

"Wow, James," said Lily, "that was sweet! Two points!"

"Wait, two points?" asked Chloe. .

"What are points for?" asked Peter.

"Maybe he gets a certain amount and they snog!" said Sirius.

"Or maybe he gets a certain amount and he's her boyfriend!" said Marietta.

"Ooh, that sounds like an excellent idea!" said Sirius.

"Don't I get a vote in this?" asked Lily, who was trying to sound irritated, but was clearly amused with the entire situation.

"Of course you get a vote," Remus pointed out rationally. "You're the one handing out the points. If he gets to... lets say... 200, you try out being boyfriend and girlfriend. You never have to commit to anything until you're ready... It just gives poor James a way to know how close he's getting."

"Well... It feels weird to be having this conversation in front of everyone, but... Things could be moving in that direction. But... James, I'll do this just so long as you know that this isn't a guarantee that it will ever get to 200."

"Fine," said James. "I was serious when I said it would be okay if we just stayed friends." James actually wasn't sure whether he was lying or not. Of course, he'd survive if they just stayed friends, and chances were he'd get married to someone else. But he really, really wanted to reach 200 points.

Monday night, Lily had night patrol with some fifth year Hufflepuff. That Hufflepuff, James figured, would not be enough to protect Lily if they encountered Flint and Prewett. And James, perhaps predictably, was worried.

"Look, can't we just give her the map?" James asked the other marauders in a hushed voice in the common room Monday Night, after looking around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping.

"'Cause she's not a marauder," Sirius answered simply. "Just because she's been your friend for, oh, a week, doesn't mean we can trust her unconditionally for the rest of her life like we can trust each other. What if you piss her off again and she goes to Dumbledore and tattles on us and we've gotta give up the map."

"Yeah, we don't want to get tattled on," echoed Peter.

James looked to Remus, hoping that he at least would be on his side. He had had a longer friendship with Lily than anyone else there. Remus, however was, as usual, the voice of reason. "James, I understand why you're worried. Flint and Prewett are at least aspiring death-eaters, and, like most Slytherins, they've got a thing against Gryffindors, especially muggle-borns. I don't want them running into Lily and some poor Hufflepuff either. But why don't you look at the map. If it looks like Lily's about to get in trouble, get your ass down there. We know all the secret passages, you could get damn near any where in this castle before they met each other, and let's face it, if you're about 30 seconds late, Lily can hold her own. Besides, saving her ass from future death-eaters would probably be worth at least 5 points," Lupin finished off with a grin.

"I do only have 2 so far. But I'd still rather give her the map. Is this an official 3 to 1 vote against me?" asked James.

"I'm not voting," said Lupin. "Best I could do is make it a tie, and I still kind of think it's a bad idea. But I'm sure you can keep her safe, James. And we're here for you, too, if you need help."

So that night, through the entire 2 hour early shift, James watched the Marauders Map from the Common Room to see if Flint and Prewett moved. But apparently even the evil needed sleep, since they stayed in their bedrooms all night.

For her part, Lily, who had been a little bit worried about Slytherins before she started her shift, felt for some reason safe and protected during her actual shift. And all that she could think of was James. She would have to find an excuse to give him some more points pretty soon. Maybe if he passed the salt in a particularly sexy way at breakfast tomorrow.

Lily wondered for a moment (she had a lot of time to think, as the fifth year Hufflepuff she was paired with was not much of a talker) whether if she was thinking about James so much, she shouldn't just let him be her boyfriend like he wanted so bad. But with the amount that she knew James loved her, she really wanted to know that this was more than friendship and more then a temporary crush, before she started messing with his feelings. She needed to know that she loved him. And she wasn't there yet. But if James got 200 points, she would know.

It was a James with 10 points who woke up at 11:45 on Thursday night to get ready for the middle shift (12-3) that he was going to carry out with a Ravenclaw 6th year named Christine Wood. James knew her already, because she was the Seeker for the Ravenclaw team, and had been responsible for a very disappointing 10 point loss for Gryffindor the previous year. Still, James didn't hold a grudge against good Quidditch players, unless they were from Slytherin, and he was looking forward to talking about this year's Quidditch teams with her. There were certainly worse people who he could be on patrol with, but he would much rather be on patrol with Lily.

Thinking of Lily, he was glad that she had been fairly generous with the points lately. She had given him two points for looking cute while passing the salt on Tuesday morning. Oddly enough, James noticed that she didn't even use the salt. She had given him two points for his smile on Wednesday. And earlier that night, when Marietta, Chloe, Lily and the Marauders had been talking in the common-room, much to the amusement of the other Marauders, she gave him 4 points for going more than an hour without ruffling his hair.

James grabbed the Marauders' Map, knowing that he could only use it when Christine wasn't there, and only if there was an emergency. Still, it made him feel better to know he had it in case he absolutely needed it. He stuffed his invisibility cloak in his pocket, too, again just for absolute emergencies. His Dad had given the cloak to him in his first year, saying only that it had helped him keep out of trouble at Hogwarts and he hoped it would do the same for his son.

He met Christine Wood between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms. "So, Wood, care to catch some Slytherin trouble-makers?"

"Sounds great," said Wood, "but how about you call me Christine when we're not on the Quidditch pitch, eh?"

"Fine by me," said James. "And you can call me James. But Potter when I'm scoring points like mad on your Keeper."

"Sounds fair," laughed Christine. "Felt almost bad beating you last year when you scored 200 points on your own. Highest scoring game I've ever been in. What did it end up being?"

"300 to you, 290 to us. And then you lot won the cup, even though we won our other two games. I was terribly jealous, I don't mind telling you," said James. He had not yet won a Quidditch cup. Gryffindor had never had a great seeker while he was playing.

"Have you found a new seeker yet?" asked Christine.

"That's Sirius' job, he's the Captain. You know, Black, one of our beaters?" asked James.

"Yeah, I know who Sirius is. Guess you'd be too busy to be Captain anyway, being Head-boy and all. Is he holding try-outs?" asked Christine.

"Yeah, this weekend. I've heard people from every year aside from first are trying out. The old captain kept Wilson on for far too long. Far too many people haven't had a chance to try out. I'd've chucked him for a Niffler on a broom if I were the captain."

"Speaking of captains," said Christine, "Did I tell you I'm one now?"

"No, you didn't!" said James, impressed. "You deserve it, of course, but I hadn't expected it. You've got 7th years on your team."

"Well, apparently our head of house didn't think they deserved it as much as I did," said Christine, who seemed to be trying hard to sound modest.

"Don't worry about being modest around me, Christine," said James. "I've been told I had a big head."
"Evans, huh?" asked Christine.

"Word gets around, eh?" asked James.

"It's a small school. And you're both big personalities. You two dating yet?" asked Christine.

"Not yet. But I've got a better chance now than I ever had," said James.

"Congratulations!" said Christine sincerely. "I'm thinking of asking Mike Bones out." She was referring to the male sixth year prefect.

"You two would make a good couple," said James. "But enough of this sappy talk. Let's talk more Quidditch."

"Absolutely," said Christine. During all this, of course, James and Christine were patrolling the hallways, but finding nothing particularly interesting.

"So who do you figure wins the cup this year?" asked James.

"Depends who your seeker is, honestly," said Christine. "Unless you have a great one, it's us again."

"So not Slytherin?" asked James.

"Absolutely not." said We'll beat them for sure, and you've got a good chance, too. They'll probably beat Hufflepuff, but... wouldn't it be great to see Slytherin go winless this of all years?"

James, however, did not have a chance to answer, because they finally came upon something on their patrol that was not only interesting, but a bit terrifying.

There was a small boy crumpled on the floor, moaning in pain. On the wall above him, on the wall of the hallway, was what James recognized as the Dark Mark.

James cussed in a way that was probably not appropriate in front of a girl.

Christine ran to the boy, and cradled him in her arms.

James knew he had to take control of the situation. "Okay. He needs to get to the hospital wing, but we also need to try to catch whoever did this to him. I want you to take him to the hospital wing. Quickest and easiest way would be on a broom. You know 'accio' right?"

"Of course," said Christine. "That's the bloody dark mark isn't it?"

"Yeah."

Christine shuddered a bit before saying, "Accio Broom!"

James said the same thing, because he would have to get through the hallways quickly too. The fat-lady was annoyed to have to open quickly to let out the broom which then sped to James.

Christine got on her broom and James hoisted the boy, who looked to be about a third year, onto the broom.

"Just take the quickest route you can to get there. If you're going to run into trouble, I'll come help you out," said James.

Christine's eyes narrowed. "How would you know."

"I can't explain. You'll just have to trust me. As your head boy," said James.

"Don't be so dramatic. If anyone tries to hex me, I'll bowl them over with my broom," said Chloe.

"So you're not scared?" asked James.

"You don't have to be a Gryffindor to be brave, James," Christine pointed out.

"Good point. Just be careful, though. I think one or probably to people used the cruciatus curse on this boy," said James.

"Well, if they're such cowards to take two to curse one poor third year, I can take the two of them on my own. Now go catch them, will you? I'll take the boy down to the hospital wing. I'll stay and wait for him to get better. Maybe you should get a message to Dumbledore to get some more prefects out here. We're just only ten minutes into our shift," said Christine.

"Point taken. And we're off," said James, as he and Christine took off in different directions on their brooms.

James had to go slower than he would have liked, so as not to crash into the walls of the narrow corridors. Hogwarts was not necessarily designed for broom travel, even though it could be done. James pulled out the Marauders' Map as soon as he knew Christine couldn't see him.

As he had suspected, Prewett and Flint were on the map, both heading toward the Slytherin common room, though they had split up and were heading there by different paths. James knew that the passwords would have been changed to get in since the beginning of term, so James knew he only had until they got to the Common Room to catch them, and that was his best chance of getting them expelled.

He had to choose one of them to go after. He decided upon Flint, because he had come off in the duels as seeming generally more evil. Plus, he was further away from the common-room.

He pushed the limits of his broom and the narrow hallways, trying desperately to catch him. He saw his little dot getting closer to that of Flint, but not quickly enough. He sped his broom up. He had to make quick, skillful turns to barely avoid hitting walls and corners. If this was a Quidditch pitch he'd have captured Flint by now. After knocking him down with his broom.

Prewett made it to the common room and James cussed, even though he knew he was sacrificing Prewett for the sake of Flint.

But it was becoming less and less likely that he would catch him either. Flint was down the hallway in the dungeon from the common room. James had three more hallways to go. He just barely made the first corner and picked up speed. He needed to catch Flint. At the next corner, the side of his broom whipped against the side of the hallway he was entering. It wasn't hard enough to do any damage to the broom, but the force knocked James halfway off his broom. By the time he recovered, and looked at the Marauders' Map, Flint was back in the Slytherin Common Room, just like Prewett had.

"Merlin's Balls!" yelled James, in a voice that was probably loud enough to scare the two couples making out in broom closets nearby that James could see on the Marauder's Map.

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