Author's Note: Yay! 80 reviews! I'm sooo thrilled everyone :). Thanks for reviewing and reading thus far. I'll continue to update, so just keep waiting patiently. xD! I'm sorry for the long wait, I just got off summer school so I'm trying to push in as much time as I can into writing the rest of this fic. I have so many things planned :). I hope you'll look forward to it! Thanks for all the reviews everyone! It keeps me updating ^_~! Special thanks to Ethreal Euphoria for reading and telling me what sounds awkward and what doesn't. Go check her stories, people! Zonkers especially :). It's a real original treat for any HP fan.
Lost Boys
In what seemed to be almost no time at all since Snape's rather bleak introduction, the Hogwarts Express began to slow down just as it trudged in the midst of a rather equally bleak-looking forest. James could just barely make out the the surroundings outside. The moon's light just barely reached them through the tall pine trees that surrounded the track. To get a better look, the messy-haired boy immediately jumped out of his seat, out the compartment door, and into the corridor. He felt no hard feelings parting with Sirius or Peter seeing as the two were already in deep conversation about something that James wasn't entirely into, or perhaps it was because he had already known about it some time ago? Something about basilisks? Or was it bathroom silks? Maybe dungbomb stinks…? He got lost half way through, and chose not to interrupt his friends' very rare bonding hour. Despite his courtesy, however, it wasn't long before the two wandered out after him. Unfortunately for the messy-haired boy, they brought the conversation along with them as they came.
"What do you think of the possibility of merpeople, mate?" inquired Sirius, tapping James on the shoulder. The handsome chap had been the first to notice the missing third of their trio. "Rumor has it that—"
"Sorry!"
Someone bumped into him, but he managed to recover almost instantaneously. Straightening himself, he glanced down at the one who had rudely interrupted him, but didn't have the heart to scold the innocent bystander that moment he realized exactly why he had bumped into him. The once empty corridor was now bustling with students, each hoping to get a glimpse of the dim view outside. There were so many students that people had begun to push and shove just to get to the window. Before Sirius could even reply anything, the person who had bumped into him had been lost in the crowd once more, maybe bumping into more people as he went along. The corridor had gotten a lot noisier now, and although James and Peter weren't complaining the growing level of loudness, Sirius was beginning to feel his eye twitch with irritation. Just as he was about to tell his friends he was going to turn into their compartment, however, James cut him short once more.
"We're here," he interrupted. James could just barely make out the contours of the forest through the dim light of the moon. They weren't the only students out and about the train now; James could gander that a majority of the people standing with their hands against the windows boggling at the sights outside were first years too. It was slightly unnerving to see so many kids his age. "By the look of this place, I'd say we're already in the Forbidden Forest."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a voice echoed throughout the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
"I guess that clears up all speculation," muttered Sirius, of who had still been mumbling profanities at being interrupted, under his breath merely seconds ago. "Forbidden Forest it is, mate." At this, he finally noticed Peter who had been twiddling his thumbs just behind them, staring down at his feet. "What's the matter? Did you get a load of the view yet, Pettigrew?"
Unbeknown to them until that very moment, young Peter Pettigrew had, in fact, been trying to get a good view of the scenery outside. Sadly, due to the blonde's stout height and stature and the fact that so many people were now gathered about the hallway now, it was almost impossible for him to even sneak a peak out the corridor window. Upon seeing their friend's predicament, Sirius uncrossed his arms and moved his way passed a few students who had been hogging the window view nearest James. With a mere swing of his right arm and a light flick of his wrist, it seemed like the entire crowd of students beckoned to his very desire and moved away to find another window. James blinked twice, trying to make out what had just happened: Is the Black family really that powerful? Ever since meeting Sirius, the messy-haired boy had begun to rethink his whole perspective of life.
Thankfully, just before James had begun to reassemble his place in the world, the Hogwart's Express finally came to a halt and the rushing sound of steam resonated outside. The minute the hushing sound of the train died down, the voices of multitudes of students rose up in pure excitement. The noise Sirius had already been irritated with had gone from high to dangerously high. James couldn't help but grin as the handsome chap plugged both ears with his index fingers. Clanging, banging, screaming, and shouting could be heard throughout the Express. Everyone was so excited to get onto the platform.
With so many people coming through the narrow corridor, it was nearly impossible for any of the three boys to try and counter the flow of the oncoming crowd. James made a mental note: Coming out into the corridor was the worst idea he had ever made. He was going to make sure to never ever make the same mistake again. The overflow of people coming out of their compartments to meet the cool breeze of the outdoors was too much for even Sirius to try and calm. Without much of a choice, the three of them eventually followed the current and stumbled their way out into the cool night air and onto the platform.
"See," scathed Sirius, eying the lines of people still coming out. "I told you the world was against us. I don't think any of our belongings are safe in there…"
James put a hand to his forehead and shrugged. It wasn't like Sirius had really meant what he said, in actuality, if anything, he was just trying to be a bit sarcastic. Sarcasm, however, doesn't always go over well with some people, and that was what James was shrugging about. He was completely okay with the handsome chap's strange sarcasm, but Pettigrew just wasn't at that age to understand what sarcasm was yet. The blonde's panicked reaction to Sirius was to be predicted.
"They're n-not going to take all our stuff, are they…?" hesitated the blonde, eying their compartment window. "I don't know what I'd do if they took Juby…"
Sirius's left eyebrow cocked upward, though the angles of his mouth curved in the opposite direction. "Juby?" he repeated, looking somewhat disturbed.
Just the mere mention of that word was enough to claim anyone's interest. Even James, whose mind seemed to have wandered for a while, found great curiosity in learning exactly what, or even who, this Juby person was. It wasn't that hard to come up with at least a vague idea of what it was, after all, who would name a guy 'Juby', right? And plus, Pettigrew seemed to be staring at the very compartment they had been traveling in for the past couple hours with no 'Juby' in sight. So, the two boys mentally deduced (almost simultaneously) that Juby was either a pet, or an inanimate object that the blonde shared his many guilty pleasures with, of which he had hidden in his trunk.
Almost as soon as James and Sirius deduced these possibilities, the realization of it all finally dawned on Pettigrew. The blonde had slipped up. His loud mouth had finally let slip the secret that he felt he would regret for his entire first year at Hogwarts. He had exposed a personal secret that even his mother had specifically told him not to tell anyone about. Peter remembered his insanely girly infatuation, and his usual pale skin turned a bright shade of red as he stared, horrified, back at the two. The thoughts of 'they'll hate me!' and 'never speak to me! Never!' ran through his mind like scrolling text on hyper drive.
"So," chimed Sirius, all sarcasm and irritation gone from his ever-so-heavenly voice, "who's Juby?"
Pettigrew squirmed slightly and accidentally bumped into an older-looking witch clambering passed them. He didn't even apologize, rather, his usual nodding head was now shaking nervously right and left, ignoring the people passing around him. He bit his lower lip and hid part of his face with his hands.
"What? You can't even tell your best mates?" asked James, curiosity taking full control of his sympathetic drive. "It can't be that bad."
"You have to promise not to hate me if I tell you!" squeaked Pettigrew, shaking fervently.
"Why would we hate you?"
"Just promise!"
"Oh, just get on with it already, will you?"
Peter sent a rather unsettling, un-Pettigrew-like glare right back at Sirius. It was so unlike him that the handsome chap actually stumbled backwards. The look didn't fit the blonde at all. It was like transfiguring a right toe to where a one's nose should be. It was that unnatural. James actually had to turn away to hide his muffled laughter.
"Fine," grumbled Sirius, "We promise…" There seemed to be a slight pause of silence before he finished his sentence with: "…so are you willing to tell us or not?"
"But you're going to laugh at me…"
Sirius threw his hands in the air, "Come on, lad! It can't be that ba—!"
"Shezamagicoporcelaindoll!"
James and Sirius exchanged glances.
"Uhm… Can you slow that down just a tad?"
The poor boy squinted his eyes, took a deep breath, and then, almost literally shouted it out so loud that everyone passing by could hear him: "SHE'S. A. MAGICO. PORCELAIN. DOLL."
The two boys blinked, allowing the words to form one complete sentence before allowing it to sink in. Several students who were passing by gave the three of them puzzled looks before proceeding toward their general destinations. In all honesty, the two had been expecting something a bit more earth shattering. A doll was the very least of their concerns. Sure, Magico's Porcelain Dolls were some of the freakiest inanimate objects (or so they say) created by your typical wizard, but for some reason the two weren't even moved to want to hate Pettigrew. Would those things really be considered inanimate? Thought James suddenly, thinking back on the first time he encountered one during his childhood. It wasn't a good first impression; most children never had good experiences with the moving porcelain doll. Whoever this Magico-guy was that created these magically motorized moving dolls was a complete sadist. James had come to his conclusion. He shuddered at the thought of the memory that had scarred him for life.
"You're never speaking to me again…" murmured Pettigrew, eyes beginning to tear up.
Amazingly enough, it was Sirius who talked sense into the blonde: "Of course we're going to talk to you, mate. It's just a doll… No big deal, right, James?"
James nodded his head, a large smile spreading across his face as he watch Sirius comfort Peter.
It was a little strange to see the handsome chap actually doing something other than insulting or teasing the said blackmail material. It was something that no one would have expected from someone bearing Black family insignia. Even though the messy-haired boy was never that stereotypical about people carrying the Black name, he had never imagined seeing a prospective Slytherin help someone out or speak kindly like this. From what he read from books and the stories he'd heard from his parents, Slytherins were supposed to be excessively proud (mental check), ruthless (half mental check), cunning (another mental check), deceptive, and power hungry. He had two and a half out of five. Not good odds for a prospective Slytherin. Slytherins normally had all of those traits. James never liked the idea that his friends would end up in a different Houses. They would be opposing each other! They'd consider each other rivals, and in the worst case scenario, they'd end up mortal enemies by the time they graduated! Sirius, himself, had told them that he was going to end up in Slytherin because of his background. It didn't settle well with him. He didn't like it at all. So what does family background have to do with anything, anyway...? Why can't we just decide for ourselves?
"Mates," he said, feeling a bit disheartened by the thoughts that rushed through his mind. "About the sorting later… You think—?"
Sirius put a hand on his shoulder. "No matter how it turns out, I'll put you first, James. We're still friends," he said this with such confidence that James couldn't help by smirk. The handsome chap, patted Pettigrew on the head and finished, "Just letting you know before you all start cryin' on me."
"I want us all to be in the same House!" shouted Pettigrew, smiling.
"Fine speech," laughed James, "You won't be getting an award for it though. I don't know what you're goin' on about... We're all going to the same House, after all."
Sirius's smile faltered slightly, "I wish—"
"'Ey! Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" exclaimed a rather booming voice from the far end of the platform. At first glance, Pettigrew was the only one of the lot whose eyes enlarged at the sight of the man calling out. He may have been standing at the opposite end of the platform, but he was clearly seen from where they stood. The man stood much taller than anyone who swarmed passed him. He looked enormous.
"I think that's Hagrid," said Sirius, nudging Pettigrew in the arm. "I highly doubt he'd hurt anyone. My parents don't like him much, so I'm assuming, he must be quite the considerate chap. May not look it, but surely we'll find out soon enough."
James, too, had heard a thing or two about Hagrid from his parents and even from books he read about Hogwarts over the years. It was amazing to actually see the guy in person. He had so many things he wanted to see for himself, so many things he wanted to learn! He had his whole life ahead of him, and he was willing to share all of his present knowledge with his fellow companions.
Just as he was about to interject some random fun fact about Hagrid to the two chattering in front of him, someone knocked right into his left shoulder. James stumbled sidewards, almost knocking into yet another student. Stunned, he spun his head in the direction of the culprit. Not even an apology? No curt response? Nothing? What kind of school is this? Spinning around actually stunned him even more for the very person who had bumped him was the very same girl who had taken the liberty of taking all of their treats off the Hogwarts Express just a few hours ago.
"Watch it!" he cried toward the girl. And when she didn't even glance over her shoulder, James sped right after her; mind you, in the completely opposite direction of where Hagrid was directing the first years to go. "Hey! Wait—"
Before James could even realize it, he was following right behind her, off the platform, and in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. She appeared to be heading in a totally different direction compared to the rest of the student body. The first years were getting rounded up by Hagrid for a possible orientation, while the higher years were heading in an opposite direction which would, no doubt, take them to Hogwarts directly. This girl, however, seemed to be walking down her own path straight into the heart of the Forbidden Forest. It didn't take long before James's curiosity blinded his original intentions. He, at first, sought justice for being pushed aside without a simple sorry, but the direction she headed and the possibility that she was up to something that no one else knew about intrigued him more.
For a girl, she had really fast legs. She moved a lot faster than it looked like she was actually walking.
Where in the world is she going? Was one of the first questions that came to his head, but the moment he heard Sirius and Peter's shouts from not too far behind, he began thinking: Wait a second, where in all the Wizarding World am I going? He had been too caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't entirely realized the danger he had put himself and his friends in. How long had he been running? How deep were they into the Forest…? Just what in the world did he just get himself into? Also, what was he thinking! By this time, he completely lost track of the real reason why he had been running after her to begin with. At this thought, he eventually slowed his pace to a walk and then, finally, stopped in his tracks. He was at a loss of what should be done. Not only that, but he had also lost complete sight of the girl too.
"James!" gasped Sirius, the first to catch up with the messy-haired boy when he had come to a stop. He bent over to trying to keep his respiration rate under control. "What…the blood hell…"
James turned around in time to see Peter finally catch up with them. His short legs could only move so fast. The poor boy seemed the most tuckered out of the lot. He collapsed, red-in-the-face and chest heaving up and down as he lay on the moist forest floor. He was much too exhausted to even allow any syllable other than 'ha' escape his lips.
"Hey, mates," said James, absentmindedly.
"Just 'hey, mates'. That's all you're going to say?" grumbled Sirius, sighing. "We've been shouting your name since you left us back there. What in the world were you thinking—? Do you know where we are right now?"
"'Course I do. It's the Forbidden Forest," he replied, simply, like it was most natural thing in the world. "I'm not that thick, mate. It's not like I ran in here just 'cuz I felt like it, what type of person do you take me for…? It was that girl—! She bumped into me, and didn't even apologize. Hit me rather hard, actually. I think I'll bruise in the morning…"
Sirius cast James a dark look, obviously not convinced by the other's explanation. "Before I comment on the latter part, I'd like to point out that, actually," he began, "You are the type to run into a place like this just cause you feel like it, James. Shall I refresh your memory? Remember Diagon Alley…?"
James rubbed the back of his neck; a sort of awkward laugh seemed to escape his teeth.
"Now, about the latter part. You just complained about getting bruised by a constituent of the opposite gender, James," Sirius crossed his arms, a sly smirk sliding across his face. "How can I put this lightly…? Hmm… Let me see… Nope. Sorry. It's impossible to put this any other way: You, mate, are a complete pansy."
"Why, thank you," James responded, sarcastically. "No one said you had to follow me you know, if you were scared..."
Sirius frowned. "Who said anything about being scared? Worried, what kind of stupid thing you were getting yourself into by yourself? Yes. Scared, because of the darkness, horror stories, and the fact that we may, indeed, find ourselves lost? Definitely not."
James looked up at the trees that surrounded them. "Anyway, don't fret, mates, I assure you, we're not lost."
"So, basically, you're saying we are lost."
"No… I just said we're not. Come'on. Where's your sense of adventure?"
It was this conversation that caused young Peter to scamper up from his laying position and onto his feet. "We're lost!" he sobbed, clinging to the one nearest him—Sirius. "Lost! Help! Someone'll save us, right, Black?"
Sirius frowned. "Doubt it."
It was obvious to anyone that Sirius was no longer in his comforting state of mind. In fact, he was in quite the opposite. He was tormenting the youngest of them into pure hysteria once more. James couldn't help but shrug his shoulders and roll his eyes. It was only a matter of time before the handsome chap's Black blood would resurface. Ignoring the remarks and sobs of the two, James inspected the area thoroughly—looking for at least a sign that would tell them where they were now.
"I-I'm too young!" cried Pettigrew, still clinging. "I'm too young to die!"
"Oh, relax. You're not going to die."
The young blonde looked up at Sirius with hope in his beady eyes. "Really…? Are you sure?"
"Not yet anyway."
This sent Peter into an even louder frenzy of wailing. It was so loud, Sirius had to cover his ears. He was so sure his eardrums would explode. The blonde was just about to produce the largest amount of water works ever made possible right into the handsome chap's robes when James suddenly whipped out his wand and gave the two a rather obvious signal that meant both 'sshhhh!' and 'listen!' at the very same time.
"What—?"
"Shh! Did you hear that?" said James in a low voice.
"I didn't hear anythi—"
"Shh!"
Pettigrew tightened his grip around Sirius's robe as his wide eyes ogled into the darkness around them. James's word had startled the blonde, and he was quick to shut his mouth. Sirius, too, looked around the place suspiciously while his free hand groped the wand in his pocket. He appeared a bit skeptical of James's seriousness, but figured that 'better safe than sorry' could actually apply in this situation. They were in the Forbidden Forest after all and they didn't just call the forest 'forbidden' for no reason. Both James and Sirius were familiar with all the haunting stories that seemed to gain life from these grounds.
For what seemed like a painstakingly long time, dead silence filled the cool air that hung around them. Nothing moved. Not even a breeze could be felt. They had no idea how much time passed as they stood there… and then, after a long moment of stalemate something rustled in some of the brushes nearby. Due to the silence hanging in the area the sound somehow resonated throughout the area, echoing as if it the rustling was coming from all sides. It was extremely hard to tell where it had really come from. Both James and Sirius were on high alert.
Pettigrew was the only one who couldn't take it anymore.
With the loudest scream he had ever produced, Pettigrew took off in a relatively eastern direction. It would have been fine had the blonde scrambled away by himself; his two friends would not only have chased after him without a second a thought, but they'd also be able to back him up if something were to jump out at them as they ran. But, unfortunately, that wasn't what happened. James went solo in playing bodyguard, especially since he watched as Peter dragged Sirius with him out of the area in that relatively eastern direction. Sirius was so discombobulated at being dragged against his will, that even with his wand whipped out, he wouldn't have a very good shot at hitting much of anything. Luckily, however, James was pretty good on his feet, and was able to keep up to pace with his two friends. The blonde's top speed wasn't all that fast anyway.
"Pettigrew!" shouted Sirius, trying to pry himself out of the blonde's death grip. "Let go!"
And boy, did Peter follow Sirius's instructions to a tee. After only a few moments, the boy made a rather abrupt halt. It was so abrupt that the handsome chap was actually flung forward, out of Peter's grasp, and toward the floor. SPLASH! James, who had been following close behind, was able to come to rather progressive stop just behind Pettigrew. From what he saw, Sirius's fall wasn't the most graceful landing he had ever made, but it was a landing nonetheless: an extremely painful landing, at that. For poor Sirius had not landed on the soft, moist forest floor they had been trudging through all this time… Instead, he had landed face first onto a beach of hard stone cobbles that were half submerged in water. James had to control himself from pointing and laughing as Sirius begrudgingly got to his feet again, with his good cloak drenched from the waist up.
The boys had stumbled upon an enormous lake. Although the water was a rather surprising geographical finding for the three boys, it was the very least of Pettigrew's worries. His eyes were as round as saucers, staring at almost a 60-degree angle from the lake before them.
"C-C-Ca-Castle… I-I-I-It's a…" he stuttered, pointing at something from across the lake. His tiny, stubby-looking hand appeared to be quivering.
The boy's incoherent words weren't completely understood until they had seen for themselves what he was pointing at. Just as young Pettigrew had stuttered, what lay across the lake before them, perched high on what looked to be a gigantic cliff, was indeed an enormous-looking castle. Had the lot not been of the Wizarding sort or had they merely been weary travelers, a chill would have certainly crept down their backs by now. The castle was, by all means, far from what one would either call eloquent or homey-looking. The structure had a sort of mysterious, and yet curious sense about it. It was a spectacular, breath-taking, and brilliant sight all put together. The lake clearing had allowed the area full access to the the star-filled sky. It looked much more fantastic here compared to back at James's house. What took their breath away weren't just the castle and the stars, but the moon as well. It was a bright waning gibbous, smiling over the castle. They had never seen a moon that big before. It had been full only a few days before; James couldn't help but wish that it had been a full moon that night. It would have made the scene perfect.
For a moment, no one spoke.
"James," whispered Sirius, breaking the stillness, "I bet you twelve sickles that that's Hogwarts."
James cast a rather amused look back at the handsome chap. Blimey, you think mate? I would have never guessed.
After taking in the first glimpse of their soon-to-be second home in the distance, it was easy to figure how rapidly their imaginations began to wander. The lot even forgot what kind of situation they were still in as they continued to marvel at the enormous fortress. The Forbidden Forest seemed like just a distant dream to them now. For all they knew, the three could have just sat on that rocky beach and just gazed for hours; it wouldn't have mattered. It was a perfect moment: A memory that they'd be sure never to forget.
"Hey," wondered Peter, suddenly. His beady eyes had just noticed a few tiny lights flicker to life not far along the beach as them. "What do you suppose those are?"
The two other boys looked in the direction young Pettigrew directed, and indeed saw something quite peculiar: Licks of flame hovering just above the murky waters. Although the moon's luminosity was enough for them to make out enough of their surroundings, the mysterious flames that were lighting up one by one stumped them completely. It wasn't until a voice rose up above the stillness that they lot realized exactly what was happening, and exactly what they had missed out on since stumbling into the Forbidden Forest.
"No more'n four to a boat!" bellowed Hagrid to the surrounding first years. "Righ'. Everyone in!"
Hagrid's voice was loud enough to be heard even at their distance. Without even a moment's hesitation, James dashed toward the flickering lights, careful not to trip over any loose cobbles. Sirius has to slap Pettigrew in the side of the head before they could chase after their messy-haired friend down the stretch of beach.
"W-Wait," panted Pettigrew, looking like he was about to cry again.
Sirius, who had been keeping in pace with the young blond, shrugged lightly at noticing the blonde's decrease in speed. It didn't take long until the both of them had slowed to a slow walk, allowing James to speed ahead without them. Of course, this wasn't the messy-haired boy's intention, but he had to do something to warn Hagrid that there were still three other first years out and about. He half wondered if the huge man had some sort of attendance list to check, but instantly retracted that thought upon seeing Hagrid get into one of the tiny boats himself as soon as all the other first years had climbed in.
"Hey!" cried the messy-haired boy, suddenly increasing his velocity. "Hang on—!"
It seemed as though luck just wasn't on their side that night. Just as he was about to run the last stretch of beach to reach the docks, he was forced to halt in his tracks. Before him, blocking their only way to get to Hagrid was a rather wide river that no doubt connected the lake to some an ocean somewhere. James had a half mind to wade into the river, but was quick to note the current and the possible depth. There was no way he'd be able to get across in time to stop Hagrid and the other students—Plus, I'd be drenched and a laughing-stalk to all of my future classmates. He figured it wasn't worth it. If only he had paid more attention to those element-bending spells back home instead of constantly looking over those prank spells!
"Mate!" shouted Sirius from somewhere behind. "James!"
From the mere faintness of the handsome chap's voice, James could tell that his friends were still far behind. This thought puzzled him. Shouldn't they have caught up to him by now? Sure, they were walking, but James hadn't gone that far of a distance. Curious, the messy-haired boy looked back to where two mates were standing, and sure enough, they were still quite a ways away. Even curious-er, however, was the fact that neither of them seemed to running towards him. In fact, they seemed to be calling him toward them.
"What?" he called back, feeling slightly unwilling to run again. "Something wrong?"
"No!" cried Pettigrew, this time, his tiny dark figure in the distance seemed to be jumping up and down and waving his arms. "We found something!"
Frowning and feeling a wee bit reluctant, James gave up on the river and headed back the way he came. It took only a few moments before the he arrived to meet them at the edge of the beach. He arrived to see Pettigrew holding Sirius's cape, while Sirius waded, knee deep, in the lake beside what appeared to be a small boat with a lantern hanging from the head. It was the same as boats they had seen Hagrid and the others climb into.
"Why's this here…?" he questioned, looking up at the other boats.
"Forget that, mate," griped Sirius, pulling the boat onto the rocky beach. Seeing that the handsome chap was having a rather difficult time pulling the boat in, James set in to helping. He didn't even mind getting his feet and the hem of his cloak wet. "Just get in!" The moment he cried this, the boat was finally up on the beach enough for the three of them to climb aboard without any chance of it tipping over.
James wiped a bit of sweat off his brow before turning to Peter. "In you go, Pettigrew. You first," he stated, patting Sirius on the back. "Nicely done, Sirius."
Sirius smirked. "Of course. Just proving to you how adventurous I can be, mate."
James couldn't help but laugh. "Proved me wrong, alright."
Pettigrew whimpered lightly at being hoisted up in the air, but cooperated when both Sirius and James helped him settle in. James was the second to hop up, leaving Sirius to be the one to push the boat afloat onto the glassy waters of the lake again. Despite being the heir to the Black name, Sirius seemed to be a lot more dependable than the rumors generalized. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty if the need be—James felt a pang of guilt upon remembering that he had not been willing enough to wade into the river.
Sirius had to swing himself into the boat as he pushed it into the water again. This motion actually caused the tiny thing to wobble terribly (causing Peter to cling severely to James's hair), but it didn't capsize. For a few brief moments it continued to wobble, but it eventually calmed and moved peacefully with the gentle waves. The lot sighed with relief and positioned themselves into a row, with Pettigrew at the head.
"So these lanterns were those flickering lights we saw?" questioned Peter, looking back at the one seated directly behind him—James. The messy-haired boy merely nodded his head, only further intensifying the blonde's curiosity.
"How'd you come across the boat? Oh!" questioned the messy-haired boy. The moment he spoke the lantern magically flickered to life. "It lit up. Magically enchanted these boats are… I'm sure you've read about them too, Sirius?"
"I read about them at your place, remember?" Sirius shrugged. "I don't know how I came across it. It was tied to one of the trees. Had Pettigrew not tripped on the invisible rope I wouldn't have seen it… It took quite a bit of effort to cut too."
James glanced back at Sirius, face up in wonder. "Invisible? You're saying it was hidden?"
Sirius merely nodded his head. "Hidden and charmed. Had to use my father's pocketknife to cut it—that old thing's enchanted to cut through anything under a spell. Pretty useless when it comes to normal objects, though."
"And… exactly why do you have your father's pocketknife on you?" mused James, crossing his arms. Pettigrew also turned around to get a look at Black his interest peaked. "Not planning anything are yeh?"
The handsome chap crossed his arms, expression quite unreadable. "Come, now, mate. The Black Family's had a history of kidnapped children for ransom. Better safe than sorry, wouldn't you say? Me dad's not going to miss it anyway—doubt he even realized it's gone!"
Peter nodded quite understandably, but James wasn't all too sure whether or not Sirius was telling the truth about the matter.
"Anyway, as I was saying," continued Sirius, "This boat was probably meant for someone else… Question is why and more importantly, for who—?"
"Tha' everyone?" shouted scruffy voice, cutting Sirius off completely. It no doubt belonged to Hagrid. "Right then – FORWARD!"
At Hagrid's command, the boats, including the one the three lost boys were now stationed upon, all moved at once in the direction of the great Castle in the distance. The distant chattering that had been heard only moments ago died down completely as the little boats glided effortlessly across the water. It were as though all the students had been suddenly enchanted to keep their mouths shut. It must have been the majestic Hogwarts castle that literally towered over them that silenced them. Even the three boys were caught up in the view that they barely even noticed when their boat came into Hagrid's view.
"Oh! An' here come our special… er—?" Hagrid stopped mid-sentence the moment he caught glimpse of the three heading their way. He laughed awkwardly, "…Y-Yeh brough' friends, did yeh? Dumbledore said nuthin' 'bout— Oh… Not tha' I meant anythin' wrong by that, yeh know… Jus' tha' dey said tha' you'd be alone and I—"
It took the boys about half way through Hagrid's speech to realize that the big man was actually talking to them. And even when they tried to comprehend what Hagrid was saying to them, nothing seemed to click. They just stared, blankly, back at the lone man in the boat as they came towards a cliff draped with long curtains of ivy.
"Watch out!" shouted James, suddenly. His warning had come too late though, as a few of the vines swopped Hagrid in the face.
"Oh, tha' ain't good," remarked Hagrid, as his boat reached the hanging curtain of ivy first. He had been so caught up with the three boys that he wasn't paying any attention. "Heads down! Heads down unless you want to be sent to the infirmary on your first day!" He slapped his right cheek as if a fly had annoyingly landed there. It was evident to everyone the poor man would be the only one in the infirmary that night.
James had to forcefully push Pettigrew forward as their boat slid under the draping curtains of poisonous leaves. The young blonde had been gapping up at the cliff that he hadn't heard a single thing Hagrid has said. As soon as the ivy was cleared, the fleet of boats turned into what appeared to be a hidden tunnel at the foot of the cliff. The way they were heading, it seemed like they were going to pass right underneath Hogwarts. There were only a few moments of darkness as they glided through the tunnel before a faint light was spotted at the far end of it. A sort of underground harbor strewn with rocks and pebbles laid waiting for them.
Several of the other students in some nearby boats ogled at the three strange boys that had come to join their little fleet from out of nowhere. The silence was suddenly diminished and soon enough almost all the first years were chatting amongst themselves in hushed whispers about the three mysterious boys that arrived from the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid was the first to stumbled out of his tiny boat and onto the rocks. Everyone else followed suit, and clambered out onto the harbor. Once on dry land, the stragglers and early birds slowly followed him up a passageway in the rocks, which eventually led to an open, grassy area in the shadow of the Hogwarts castle. It was most evident that Hagrid was having a hard time concentrating on walking straight… His face must have itched so terribly that he began using the walking stick he had been carrying along with him as a scratcher.
"Mr. Hagrid, sir," said a red-haired girl, whom James recognized almost immediately to be Evans, Lily. "Will you be alright…? Your face is swelling up really bad…"
Several surrounding students chuckled amongst themselves, and Lily seemed appear quite cross with their insensitivity. No one seemed to notice her fierce glares when they caught eye contact with her though. In pure desperation she shot a pleading look back at the one whom she had been conversing with since they departed from Platform 9¾. Snape, Severus, still mismatched and gloomy-looking since they last saw him, stood right next her, furrowing his brows at her silent pleas. He looked pretty stumped with how she wanted him to go about fixing the problem.
Despite Evan's desire for justice, Hagrid merely muffled his reply, something to the effect of 'nuthin' to worry 'bout', 'happens all the time', and that he was 'used to it', and continued leading the troop of first years toward a flight of stone steps at the foot of a huge, oak front door.
"Mmmph mmsh?" mumbled Hagrid through squinted, puffy eyes.
The students looked around at each other and frowned. As if they could understand a single word he said!
"I believe he's asking if everyone's here," stated Evans, crossing her arms. Snape had a look of pure concern on his face now; from what James could tell, it seemed like the Evans girl was now ignoring him too. "So? Are we all here or not?"
Sirius smirked, nudging James in the arm. "Get a load of this girl and her know-it-all attitude... What's she trying to do? Make enemies the first day of school? It's pure suicide, mate. Think we can divert the student body's attention away from that attention hog? Her tone's beginning to irritating me…"
The messy-haired boy could only shrug. "Best not to go there, mate. Let me handle it," At this he patted Sirius on the shoulder, walked right passed Evans and up the stairs toward the huge, oak doorway that Hagrid had intended them to go toward. "You don't suppose you mind me doing the honors, Hagrid?" he inquired looking down toward the crowd below him. All the negative attention that had been on Evans just a few seconds ago was now immediately transferred and converted to some rather amused attention towards the messy-haired boy. Sirius crossed his arms and shook his head, grinning widely. James was an attention hog, and Sirius knew that all too well. Pettigrew's eyes seemed to sparkle at James's bravery.
"What do you think you're doing?" called Evans, frowning. "I doubt Hagrid would—"
"He's dead!" cried someone from the crowd.
Just as the redhead said this, Hagrid doubled over and passed out on the stone steps. It was a spectacle that none of the three lost boys could have foreseen. The large man seemed so together; a little too together for him to pass out so easily. All the first years stared wide-eyed, not knowing how to react. Even Sirius and Peter were shocked enough that they forgot how to breathe. Evans looked even paler than a piece of parchment, and had it not been for the current predicament, surely the student body would have laughed at her.
"Someone call for help!"
James, being the closest one to the door immediately knocked upon it three consecutive times (just like in his mother's bed time stories) and waited for it to swing open. And sure enough, after what seemed like two painstakingly long seconds, it finally did.
:: COMING SOON ::
Blood Relations
Thanks for reading!
Please Review :).
I'll give you a smores cookie if you do :D!
