Hey everyone! Another chapter hot off the press! :D I hope everyone had a really great Thanksgiving, and that you're all gearing up for the holiday season! I know I am. I listen to exclusively Christmas songs every time I'm in the car XD
So, I got a seasonal job at Target, which has slowed me down in the writing process. I'm finally back to working on chapter 37, but I've only added another two or three paragraphs. I had to work everyday from last Tuesday until yesterday and I'm wiped out. At least it's just temporary, and I'm making great money. $$$$
Anyway, enough about me. Let's get to the chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. And Kam, I'm sorry, but it was going to happen eventually XD Love ya!
~SXS
FOR WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMER, PLEASE SEE FIRST CHAPTER AN. THANKS!
Before anyone knew what had hit them, it was December. Remus had gone through another three full moons with a fourth threatening him over the holiday. He had tried thinking positively by remembering that this time he would be with his parents, who would be there to comfort him. But the emotional support would be canceled out by the lack of Madam Pomfrey's professional care. In the end, he decided not to think about it at all.
Sirius was looking forward to a week of not having to worry about homework or classes. Much as he loved magic and everything he was learning, he really needed a break to recuperate. But when he found out that Remus was going home rather than staying at the school, he was rather upset.
"But Rem, what am I supposed to do all by myself for a week?" he complained one day when they were walking back to Gryffindor Tower.
"Why don't you go home yourself?" Remus asked.
"You know I can't. I'll be miserable. Mumsy dear will probably trap me in my room for the week. She might not even let me come down for Christmas dinner. I can't miss Christmas pudding, Rem, even if it's Kreacher's warped version." Sirius clasped his hands together in a begging position. "I have to stay here, and I don't want to be bored to death without you!"
"You can find things to do. What about the homework that the professors assigned?" Remus pointed out.
Sirius made a retching motion. "I want to actually enjoy my holiday, thank you very much." Remus rolled his eyes, but with a smile. "Please stay here, Rem! Please!" He stepped in front of his friend and gave him puppy dog eyes coupled with a protruding lower lip.
"That's not going to work on me, Siri." Remus walked around him and continued up the stairs. He wasn't telling the whole truth of course. He would have stayed at the castle for the holidays if not for the full moon over the break. Sirius's imitation of a sad puppy was tugging at his heartstrings, though. He truly felt bad that his friend couldn't go home, but there was nothing that the werewolf could do. Besides that, he missed his parents, and he couldn't wait until Easter to see them.
"Siri?" the pureblood repeated, momentarily distracted. "My brother calls me that."
Remus shrugged. "You've been calling me 'Rem' since we met. I figured it was about time I gave you a nickname."
"Ah. But, anyway." Sirius went right back to his pleading. "Anjanette's going home too, and Fabian and Gideon. I'm going to be so bored!" he said again.
"I really want to see my parents though," Remus tried to argue, but felt his resolve wobble. Sirius would probably stay with him if the situation were reversed. But even if Remus sacrificed a visit home, he would have to explain why he was disappearing over New Year's Eve. The less excuses he had to make the better.
"I wish I could say the same," Sirius huffed, pouting. He was one of about three first years who weren't returning home for the Christmas holidays. He wanted to be able to go home like anyone else. To say that he couldn't wait to tell his parents about all the wonderful things he'd experienced at Hogwarts. To get that warm fuzzy feeling that other kids got when they thought of their homes.
He had considered going home at one point, until he received his return letter from Regulus a few weeks before.
Dear Sirius,
You are in so much trouble! Mum talks to Dad at least once a day about what your punishment is going to be when you get back from Hogwarts. Whatever you do, DO NOT COME HOME UNTIL SUMMER! At least by then they will have had a little more time to simmer down from the initial anger.
I'm sorry it took me a while to write back, but Mum's always around and I don't want her to catch me writing to you. She almost wouldn't let me read your letter after that owl swooped in and knocked her good china out of the hutch. Nice work, picking that bird (imagine my voice dripping with sarcasm).
Anyway, I miss you a lot. Things are a lot quieter without you getting in trouble every second of every day. I can't wait to see you but I sincerely hope that it's during the summer. I don't want you to lose your head and not be able to at least finish your first year. We'll see how far Mum lets you get after that.
Stay in touch...I love you.
Regulus
Obviously going home was out of the question, no matter how badly he wanted to see his brother and make sure he was still the same even after spending almost four months under the full influence of his parents. His chances of finishing school (and possibly life) depended on him staying at Hogwarts until June.
They had made their way back to the Tower and entered their room, avoiding the barrier line on the floor, and sat on their beds. James and Peter came in after a moment and the two pureblood rivals exchanged a glare.
"Hey, Black," James said suddenly. "I want to take a nap before dinner and I don't trust you to be awake while I'm not. So clear out."
Sirius felt his temper rise. "First of all Potter, you prick, I can't get to your side of the room, remember? Secondly, even if I could I wouldn't waste my time. And lastly, this is my room as much as yours and you have no right to tell me to leave."
The messy-haired boy sneered. "I would have to disagree seeing as I am the true Gryffindor here. This is only your room temporarily until they decide to move you to the correct House."
A low growl escaped Sirius's throat. Remus hadn't wanted to get involved in a confrontation, but he couldn't help himself. These months of fighting had been exhausting. "You know, all you've done since we met is pester Sirius and I without ever getting to know us. It really isn't fair. Why can't we just all be civil to one another?"
"Can it, Loopy. Nobody asked you."
"Yeah, stay out of it, Loopy Lupin," Peter chimed in.
"You've got some nerve, Pot-head. After what you did to Remus on the first day of classes, which you never apologized for by the way, you are still a complete arse!" Sirius barked. Much as Potter drove him crazy, at least their mutual hatred made sense. Their families had plenty of antipathy between them, even if Sirius wasn't inclined to side with his own. But it bothered him even more that James made fun of Remus when he didn't deserve it.
"I didn't do anything!" James protested.
"You know bloody well that you did! You made his broom lose control and he could have gotten really hurt. You owe him an apology."
"Sirius, it was an accident. Those brooms were old," Remus said but was ignored.
James's lips formed into a smirk and he cocked an eyebrow. "I'll apologize to the little weirdo...If you admit that you belong in Slytherin."
"THAT'S IT!" Sirius jumped up and pointed his wand. Before James could react, he shouted, "Stupefy!"
The curse shot towards the bespectacled boy who curled up and covered his head. But halfway there it seemed to hit a wall and bounce like a well-aimed Bludger, directly back at Sirius. It hit him square in the chest and he froze with a look of shock etched on his face.
James, who was waiting for the inevitable stun and found nothing happening, poked his head up from between his knees. When he saw Sirius frozen like a statue, he burst out laughing. Remus chuckled a little, unable to deny that the position was amusing, and Peter joined in as well. Soon it bubbled into hysteria and the boys were doubled over. Remus was sure that if Sirius wasn't frozen that he would have joined in as well.
After they had calmed down, Remus performed the countercurse and soon Sirius was moving again. He bent and unbent various joints and stretched. "Merlin, I didn't think that it repelled curses too!"
James laughed again. "You have to admit that was pretty funny, mate."
Sirius's lip twitched. "Mate?" he asked incredulously.
"Well…maybe I have been a jerk," James admitted.
"I'd have to agree with that," Remus said. "You weren't really fair, not giving us a chance."
"Um, yeah, I was thinking that too," Peter said quietly.
James's hazel eyes locked with Sirius's blue-gray. "I guess you're right. After all, you wouldn't be here if you weren't different from your family. The Sorting Hat is never wrong." Sirius was surprised by this sudden turn of events, but felt himself warm to James when he said the same thing Remus had. "What do you say, Black? Mates?" He extended his hand.
"I'm not sticking my hand over that line," Sirius said, having learned his lesson. "But...I guess. Mates. But you have to be mates with Remus too."
"And you with Pete." Peter smiled sheepishly at Sirius, who grinned in return.
"Finally! We can share this room without tension," Remus said and they all laughed. "And we can get rid of this ridiculously dangerous line. Sirius, will you?"
"I would...If I knew the counterspell."
Remus groaned. "You don't know it?"
"I didn't think it would be a problem! Who would have thought that the Almighty James Potter would come down from his high horse and be a good person?" Peter giggled quietly.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
"And do you honestly think my mother would have told it to me?" Sirius finished.
"Good point." Remus put a hand to his chin. "Well, it must be in one of the books at the library. There are endless amounts of information there."
"No better place to start looking," James agreed. Thus, the newly formed group of friends exited their room and made their way down the steps and into the haven of knowledge. There were shelves upon shelves of books about potions, charms, transfiguration, and everything in between. Once they were inside, the four split up and each of them pulled out a few volumes, looking for the original spell in the hopes that the reversal would be on or around the same page.
"Would you call it a defensive spell?" James asked.
"Kind of, but not exactly. What about this? Get Off My Lawn! Spells to Keep Unwanted Guests at Bay," Sirius suggested. He opened it to the index and looked for the name of the spell but found nothing.
"I would have thought it would be in that one for sure," James said.
"Here's something." Peter spread out a book in front of them and pointed to a line on the page. "It says 'For the Territory Splice see Magicke Moste Evile'..." His face paled considerably as he read and he gulped.
"I guess we're stuck with that barrier forever," Remus said.
"I used a Dark spell?" Sirius pulled out his wand and looked at it as if there was Dark magic wafting up from its tip. "I can't believe it...I'm so stupid. I should have known my mother would never use anything else!"
"Hey, it's ok. You didn't know any better," Remus said. "Though it's ironic because that technically makes James right about you using Dark magic."
"Shut up!" Sirius swiped at his head and he dodged.
"It's alright, mates. I know where we can find that book," James said, waggling his eyebrows.
"Yeah, in the Restricted Section no doubt," Peter said in a shaky voice.
"Exactly."
Sirius and Remus gave each other a look, silently questioning James's sanity. "How do you suppose we get in there?" James answered by pulling a silky piece of cloth out from under his robes. It looked silvery in some places and in others it seemed to disappear. "What's that?"
"An Invisibility Cloak. My dad gave it to me. Apparently been in my family for generations." James pulled the cloak around him and his body vanished, leaving his floating head. Peter's eyes seemed about to pop out of his head as he watched him pull up the hood, leaving a seemingly empty space where he was.
"Why did we wait this long to be friends again?" Sirius asked. His mind was racing thinking of all the possible ways he could use the cloak to sneak around and cause mischief at home.
"Even if we used that, it would still look strange when books start floating on their own from the shelves," Remus pointed out.
"That's why we're going to come back at night," James said, his voice suddenly right behind the werewolf. He jumped about a foot in the air and whipped around, though the boy was still invisible. "We can use the cloak to get through the portrait hole and the halls without anyone seeing us."
Sirius walked over to the spot where James's voice was coming from and slung an arm over his shoulders. To Remus and Peter it looked like he was holding his arm out in the air. "I like the way you think, Potter. This is truly the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
.:~I~S~S~:.
That night the four boys waited up until the common room was empty, under the pretense of doing homework. Remus actually was doing his and trying to help Peter as well. It turned out that the pudgy boy was rather friendly but equally hopeless in many of their subjects. James and Sirius were sitting with books in front of them but they were really focusing on catching up on the months of friendship they missed out on.
"So I decided to just scoop it out of the toilet and put it in her tea. She seemed to like it," Sirius finished telling his story. James cackled with laughter.
"That's wicked! I can't believe I really thought you were Dark. You're more fun than Peter!" he said, jerking a thumb at the other boy.
"Hey!"
"Sorry, Pete. But you don't like adventure as much." The pureblood shrugged like there was nothing that could be done about it.
"I'm planning on coming with you tonight, aren't I?" His eyes were wide and round.
"Relax, Pete, I'm just kidding."
When the last Gryffindor was safely in their dorm, James pulled out the cloak. "Alright boys. Let's go." He opened it so that all four of them could fit underneath. It was a bit of a tight squeeze but they managed. They shuffled toward the portrait hole and exited into the dark hallway.
"What's that? Who's there?" The Fat Lady said, as it seemed to her that no was stepping through. They silently passed by and made their way down the stairs.
Once to the library, they found the door locked. "Alohomora!"Remus cast on the knob and there was a clicking sound. They pushed open the door and stepped inside.
There was no light in the library save for the waxing moon that crept in from the windows. Each of them cast a Lumos and shadows began to dance from their shaky wandlight. "It's kinda creepy at night," Peter whispered sounding wary. James pulled the cloak off of them and they separated.
"They're just books, Pete," he said. "It's fine." But even he sounded a little nervous.
The group moved towards the Restricted Section and checked to see if there were any spells around the entrance. "It seems to be clear," Remus said. He stepped cautiously towards the rope and lifted it. Nothing happened, though they held their breath and waited for a minute just in case. Silence.
"It seems too easy," Sirius said.
"Madam Pince can see this area right from her desk. She probably figures that she'll see anyone before they have a chance to go in without permission," James guessed, trying to convince himself more than anyone else.
"What was that book, Peter?" Remus asked.
"Magicke Moste Evile. Spelled in old English or something." Another gulp.
Remus held the glow from the tip of his wand up to the spines of the books and his friends followed suit. Their combined lights made it much easier to see all the shelves at once.
After a few moments of searching, Sirius said, "I found it." He pulled a large, black leather bound book off the shelf. "Ugh, it reminds me of home." He held it out at arm's length as it if had a disgusting odor wafting from it.
The tome was musty smelling, but what was worse was the waves of Dark magic emanating from it. Remus recoiled, never having felt such a concentrated pulse of negative energy since the night he was bitten. Did he have an aura like that? He remembered the day on the platform when that woman had said she sensed Dark magic around him, and he felt sick to his stomach.
"Let's find the countercurse and get this over with," he said, letting a little too much of his urgency show in his voice.
"Okay, Rem, jeeze. Don't have a cow," Sirius said, leading them out to a table. He put the book on the desk and opened it to the index. There, just as the other book had said, was the page for the Territory Splice. He turned to that page and wrote the countercurse on the piece of parchment he had brought. Then he went back to put the book on the shelf. As soon as it was away from him, Remus relaxed. Once Sirius had returned, they all squeezed under the cloak once more.
"Mission accomplished. Back to our room, boys!" James stuck a triumphant finger in the air and they left the library, Remus re-locking the door as they went.
The halls were quiet save for their light tiptoeing and the snores of portraits. Halfway through their return journey, however, Remus's sensitive ears detected a farther off sound of footsteps, coming in their direction. He put his hand on Sirius's shoulder, who then grabbed James and Peter to stop them. Once still, they could all hear the newcomer approaching. James jerked his head towards the wall and they shuffled over to press themselves flat against it. The footsteps came closer and they eventually could make out the silhouette of Argus Filch, the caretaker.
"It's Filch!" Peter whispered, but a little too loudly. James slapped a hand over his mouth, being the closest to him. But it was too late. Filch had heard and stopped, turning towards them, though he couldn't see anything there.
"I sense something..." he whispered in a raspy voice. "Something..." He lifted his nose into the air and peered around, as if trying to sniff them out. Suddenly, he approached in the direction of the hidden boys and they pushed themselves even further up to the wall, though it didn't make a difference.
Filch came within a few inches of the cloth over Remus's nose. The werewolf turned his head sideways at the last second so that they wouldn't collide. Peter's heart was racing and he was sure that Filch could hear it. Time seemed to slow down as they waited for something, anything, to accidentally give them away. But after a few seconds that felt like hours, Filch tutted and seemed satisfied that nothing was there.
The caretaker turned and started to move off in the way he was heading before. The boys were still frozen on their spots, but their shoulders had dropped in relief.
Then there was a tug on the cloak.
"What the?" They looked in horror at Filch's foot which had gotten caught in the cloak and was half invisible. Filch bent down and picked up the edge in confusion. He yanked the cloak off of them before they could react and dropped it on the floor.
"Students! Out of bed after curfew! Wait till the Headmaster hears about this, wait!" They were about to scatter but Filch managed to grab onto James and Peter who were closest to him. Sirius and Remus were stopped by a cat jumping out from around a corner, hissing and spitting at them. They backed away from it and right into Filch's clutches. "Good, Mrs. Norris, good. To your Head of House first, we'll go. Let her deal with you from there." He scooped up the cloak and walked them down the hall.
"Hey, that's my cloak!"
"Not anymore, it ain't. No, sir, this is going to my office, it is." James struggled against Filch's hold, trying to twist around and grab the material, but he managed to keep it out of reach.
Peter started whimpering something about his parents killing him for getting in trouble. James and Sirius were pouting, and Remus sighed, hoping that the inevitable detention would at least be the quiet study kind.
Filch took the four to Professor McGonagall's quarters and knocked on the door. "Oh, honestly, as this hour?" they could hear her saying from the other side. There was shuffling and a moment later their professor appeared in a dressing gown and night cap. "What is going on, Mr. Filch?"
"I found these four...marauders sneaking around," Filch told her, with a sort of excitement in his voice.
"Really now? And what reason did you boys have to be wandering the halls after curfew?" She peered over her spectacles at them. Peter shrunk away under her gaze.
"We were just...doing a little research," James said. It wasn't exactly a lie.
McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure whatever research this was could have been done during the daylight hours."
"Um...the library is more exciting at night," Sirius tried.
"I appreciate the enthusiasm," she said, though her expression was unconvinced, "but I'm afraid I'm going to have to give the four of you detention." Filch's face broke into a wicked smile and he stalked off, the cloak slung over his shoulder. The boys groaned at their sentence. "However, I am glad to see that the four of you are getting along. It's about time that you cleaned up your act. Now, goodnight, gentlemen." She closed the door leaving them alone in the hall again.
The four boys shuffled back towards the dorm, good mood deflated in light of being caught. James was the most distressed of all. "My dad is going to be so mad if he finds out the cloak got taken away."
"He's not going to find out," Sirius said. "We'll just have to come up with a scheme to get it back."
"I'm going back to bed," Remus said. "I'm not in the mood to earn any more detentions for trying to break into Filch's office."
"Party pooper," James said. "What about you, Pete?"
The blonde boy bit his lip. "Eh..."
"Come on, Peter. Live a little!" Sirius urged.
"Well…okay. I guess it'll be fun."
"Atta boy, Pete," James said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Come on, Sirius." He turned them round to walk in the opposite direction. But Sirius stayed back for a second, looking at Remus one more time.
"Sure you don't want to come, Rem?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Do be careful, though."
Sirius nodded with a grin before running to catch up with Peter and James.
.:~I~S~S~:.
It was about an hour before Sirius, James, and Peter returned to the common room. Remus had waited up for them, ready to make an excuse if an older student had somehow realized they were three boys looked put out as they shuffled into the room. Remus stood up and met them halfway across the floor, worried that they'd gotten into even more trouble.
James sighed and hung his head low. Then it shot up with a huge smile as he produced the cloak in his hand.
"You got it!" Remus gasped.
"Of course we got it," James said. "It was easy."
"Yeah, Filch was asleep when we found his office and he left the door open. What a nit," Sirius continued.
"It was right on his desk." James held the cloak to his chest and snuggled his face in it.
"Then what took you guys so long?" Remus asked.
"We decided to have a look at some of the other goodies Filch had confiscated." Sirius held up what looked like a spinning top with swirls of yellow, blue, and red all over it.
"What's that?"
"It says it's a Sneakoscope." Sirius turned it in his hand and showed the text along the side. "I have no idea what it does. I just thought it looked cool."
"There really wasn't anything else interesting," James said. "Just a bunch of drawings and some old toys. But we had to take something for our troubles."
Remus took the Sneakoscope from Sirius and turned it over a few times. It didn't look like much. "You know, when Filch realizes that the cloak is missing, he's going to come after you."
"I doubt he'll notice. It's invisible, remember? You could barely see it when it was laying on the desk."
"I'm tired, mates. Can I go to bed?" Peter asked.
"Permission granted, soldier," James said, saluting him. Peter just rolled his eyes and made his way to the boy's staircase.
"We should really be going too, you know," Remus said. James and Sirius pouted, but when the former yawned the latter quickly followed and they both agreed that it was about time to get to sleep.
