AN: I know, those last couple chapters weren't terribly exciting, but I promise, this one is better, and so will be the next one…
Fun fact: I just moved across the country and I drove by a bank that said "D. L. Evans Bank" on the sign, except at first I couldn't see the "D." :P
Chapter 8: Prefect Duty
James' POV:
Unusually, tonight I was in the common room, because Moony had convinced me to help Wormtail with homework. And, unfortunately, Wormtail didn't like the library, where I usually studied due to an absence of Lily and Sirius.
I was just about to make Wormtail come down to the library with me, when I overheard Lily saying, "Well, Sirius, I have to go patrol corridors. Don't wait up for me, okay? Get some sleep."
I pointedly busied myself helping Wormtail as they kissed, and Lily walked out. I breathed a sigh of relief. Sirius, alone, I could deal with. I could ignore him.
I continued helping Wormtail, starting to think that tonight might not be so bad after all.
Lily's POV:
I walked along the corridors for a while, and then ducked into the prefect's lounge to grab a bottle of mineral water.
Sipping my water, I continued to patrol for a couple hours, by which time I had finished my water and was yawning. Glancing at the time in an unlocked classroom, I began to head up to Gryffindor Tower. I walked up a couple staircases, down a corridor, and turned the corner, walking into another corridor. I had gone this way because I knew it contained a tapestry that concealed a passageway – a good shortcut to the common room.
But as I walked up to it, I sensed that something was wrong. The tapestry was moving, as if someone had just slipped behind it. I began to draw out my wand, but before I could I heard someone whisper, "filthy mudblood," and then I felt myself crumple to the floor as everything went dark.
James' POV:
By the time I had finished helping Wormy and finished my homework, everyone had gone up to bed, even Sirius. Relaxing in a puffy chair, I took out the map Sirius, Moony, Wormtail, and I had made and tapped it with my wand, whispering, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
I found Lily's dot and watched it move around the corridors, finally starting to head back to Gryffindor Tower. She ended up in the corridor that concealed a shortcut up to the tower, but instead of continuing down the corridor, her dot paused, moved forward, and stopped. I waited for it to move again, but the dot stayed stationary.
Then I noticed something that I had missed before – another dot was in the corridor, in the passage behind the tapestry. I peered at the name, and had difficulty reading it until it moved.
My eyes widened when I saw whom the dot represented.
Regulus Black.
AN: -cue dramatic music-