A/N: I am SO sorry that I haven't uploaded in a while. This is the type of story where you really need to write several chapters at a time, so that you can go back and edit. But, I bring you three new chapters in hope that my followers will enjoy.
Chapter Six: Investigating A Rumor
Perhaps it was the fact that he was now piling Auror training on top of mountains of homework, but James could hardly believe that he had been at Hogwarts for nearly two months. The school had become his second home, and his friends had become his brothers.
James supposed that he would've enjoyed his term at Hogwarts more, had he not had to deal with Severus Snape. James didn't know exactly how it had happened, but he and Snape seemed to go from a bitter rivalry to pure enemies. For whatever reason, Snape loathed James, and James returned the feeling.
Sirius's hatred for Snape matched James's. Sirius, however, seemed to bring it upon himself, as he would torture Snape at any chance he got.
"Sorry, Professor Flitwick!" Sirius said, hastily, one day, after just setting Snape's textbooks on fire, "Must've said the incantation wrong!"
Even worse than Snape was Sirius's family: Bellatrix Black, Narcissa Black, and her boyfriend, Lucius Malfoy. They were all in Seventh Year Slytherins, and all seemed to detest the fact that Sirius was alive.
"Say James," Sirius said one night, as the two were returning to the Common Room, "Is it just me, or does it seem as though my dear cousins don't want to be noticed?"
Indeed, Bellatrix and Narcissa had their hoods up and were slinking down the corridor with an air of dark mystery.
James put a finger to his lips. With careful stealth and precision, the two crept after the older girls. At one point, Sirius stumbled. James pulled him behind a gargoyle just as Bellatrix and Narcissa turned around. After a tense moment, they started forward again. Finally, Bellatrix and Narcissa ducked into an abandoned classroom.
James and Sirius listened at the door. The voices were faint, but they could hear broken conversation.
"…Lucius searched over by that oaf, Hagrid's…"
"…I'm certain it's in the forest…"
"Bella, maybe we should stop…?"
"Imagine if we found the tomb of Slytherin…"
James grabbed Sirius and the two raced into the classroom across the hall, just as Bellatrix and Narcissa opened the door.
"The tomb of Slytherin?" Sirius hissed, "What's that?"
James didn't know, but he was going to find out.
James and Sirius decided to wait until break the next day to tell the other two what they had heard.
They crossed the courtyard, the colorful leaves crunching beneath their feet. To their surprise, Lupin had news as well.
"I was just about to go looking for you. You two will have to finish your Potions homework on your own. I have to leave."
"And where, may I ask, is so important that you will abandon our homework needs?" Sirius asked, climbing onto a branch of a yew tree.
"It's my mum," Lupin sighed, "She's very ill."
James's face fell, "Oh, I'm sorry. Is she going to be alright?"
Lupin nodded, quickly, "Of course; I just need to visit her."
"You'll miss Halloween," Peter squeaked. He had been unusually jumpy the past few days. The teachers had decorated the castle for Halloween, and Peter was getting terrified at every turn.
James grimaced, "On another note, I don't suppose that you've heard of the story of the tomb of Slytherin?"
Lupin thought for a moment. Then, his amber eyes lit up, "Yes, I have! I remember reading about it in a library book a few weeks ago."
"We have a library?" Sirius asked, puzzled.
Lupin gave him a pained look before looking through his bag. He started pulling out many different books. Finally he found what he was looking for, pulling out a large, dusty, book.
"Blimey," Sirius said, "That thing has to be as old as Hogwarts."
Lupin flipped through the fragile pages until he found what he was looking for.
"Of all the legends of Hogwarts, one of the most familiar is the legend of the tomb of Salazar Slytherin. Upon Salazar Slytherin's request, upon his death, he was buried somewhere on the castle grounds, along with his most valuable possessions. The tomb has yet to have been found.'
"His most valuable possessions," Sirius repeated, "No wonder Bellatrix and Narcissa are after it."
James and Sirius quickly explained what had happened the day before.
When they were finished, Lupin's brow was furrowed.
"Has it occurred to you that Bellatrix and Narcissa wanted you to hear what they were up to?"
"Why would they do that?" Sirius questioned.
"It's obvious isn't it?" Lupin sighed, "They're trying to trick you. They want you to go looking for this tomb."
"Or they want to find the tomb themselves," James said, his eyes lighting up.
Sirius looked uncertain, "I dunno, mate. We Blacks are one of the richest families in the world. What would they need with more money?"
James didn't have an answer to that. He reluctantly said good-bye to Lupin and he, Peter, and Sirius returned to the Common Room, where the piles of homework soon distracted them.
Still, all through class, James couldn't stop thinking about the tomb of Slytherin, and the mysteries that lied within.
The Halloween feast was spectacular. Dozens of man-sized jack-o-lanterns lined the Great Hall. The dessert consisted of so many sugary sweets that James felt as though his teeth were going to fall off. Sirius, James, and Peter returned to the Common Room several pounds heavier than when they had left.
Perhaps it was because he had eaten too many sweets, but James had a string of nightmares that night.
He woke up in a cold sweat. Breathing heavily, he crept over to the window, staring out at the full moon. He was just about to return to bed, when something caught his eye. Two figures were slinking across the grounds.
"Sirius, Peter, wake up!" James roared, excitedly. Sirius yelped, falling out of his bed and onto the floor. Peter hit his head on his four-poster, creating a massive goose-egg on his head.
They stumbled over to the window.
"What is it?" Sirius cried, "Is it another Death Eater attack?"
"No, look down there," James pointed, "It's Bellatrix and Narcissa."
Peter squinted, "Are you certain?"
"Of course, can't you see them?" James bubbled, "They're going to search for Slytherin's tomb! I knew it! I say we go after them."
"B…but…" Peter tried to protest.
"Are you a Gryffindor, or not?" James snapped.
Peter pouted but nodded.
"Then shut up and follow me," James whispered.
Once again, they found themselves slipping through the castle and out onto the grounds. This time, however, they didn't stop when they reached the force field. Instead, despite Peter's protests, they marched through and into the dark forest.
They walked further and further. Screeches and howls rang through the trees. A silvery fog lapped at their ankles.
"James," Sirius hissed suddenly, "Do you hear that?"
Indeed, James could hear a high-pitched sing-song cackle. It made his hair stand on end and his spine shiver. Suddenly, the reality of the situation seemed to hit him. Every snap of the thinnest twig hit James's ears. Shadows turned into threatening beasts. Trees started to look identical.
"Don't lose your nerve," he whispered, to himself as well as the others.
He hesitated, realizing that the screeching song was growing louder. It was horrible, yet entrancing at the same time.
James realized that they had begun walking again.
He shook his head, trying to stop, "No, we have to go back."
And yet, they couldn't turn around.
Suddenly, the ground gave out beneath them. Yelling, they fell into a small gorge.
Groaning, James sat up, looking around. Sirius was gritting his teeth, clutching his arm, which was positioned at an odd angle. Peter was unconscious, his head bloody from a jagged rock.
Ignoring the deafening cackle, James crawled over to Peter.
"Peter, wake up. Come on, mate, you need to wake up."
Peter opened his eyes and let out a high-pitched scream.
Little creatures were moving around them. They looked like demonic elves, with long noses, and glowing, yellow, orbs for eyes.
"Erklings," Sirius gasped.
James took out his wand, "Flipendo!"
He repeated the spell several times, pointing it at different erklings. Each time, the spell would knock them back, but more would just keep coming.
Sirius took his own wand. Fighting the pain, he swished his arm and cried, "Alarte Ascendare!" It shoot an erkling high into the air, but upon landing, the creature was angrier than ever.
They were now climbing on top of them. Sharp teeth tore at James's skin. He yelled out in pain.
From far off, James could hear the sound of a dog barking. Then, he faded into a painful sleep.
With a gasp, James opened his eyes. He was lying in a bed in the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey was applying an ointment onto the small, but deep, bite wounds that were on his body.
"How could you be so foolish?" she was saying, "Wandering into an erkling burrow. You're lucky Hagrid found you, or you would've been eaten."
She continued to lecture them for sometime. Finally, she shooed them away, Sirius sporting a sling on his broken arm, and Peter rubbing the bump on his head. Shamefaced, they decided to go thank Hagrid.
The half-giant was in front of his hut, shucking corn into a large barrel.
"'ello," he said, cheerfully, "Yer all lookin' better. Scar'd me an' Fang half ter death when we foun' yeh.'
He abandoned the corn to make them each a cup of strong tea.
While they pretended to sip, they filled Hagrid in on why they were in the forest to begin with.
"The tom' of Slytherin?" Hagrid scratched his head, "I' been gamekeeper at Hogwar's for a lon' time an' I ain't seen no tom'."
"Just because you haven't seen it, doesn't mean it's not there," James pointed out.
Hagrid looked skeptical, "Yeh ever stop ter think maybe Sirius's cousins wan'ed yeh to hear em?"
"That's what Lupin said," Peter pointed out, before avoiding an oncoming cornstalk that James threw at him.
Hagrid patted James's shoulder with a loud crunch. The three thanked him and left, their spirits low.
James was so distracted he hardly noticed three figures that stepped out from behind the massive pumpkin patch.
"Well, well, well. So you three wretches think that you can find the tomb of Slytherin?"
Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Lucius were all smirking, looking very out of place in the sunlight.
"Shove off," Sirius warned.
James interrupted, "You set us up."
Narcissa laughed softly, "Do you honestly think that a bunch of little children can find a tomb that's been lost for centuries?"
James pulled out his wand, "Impedimenta!"
Narcissa reeled backwards, momentarily blind.
Lucius was livid. He whipped out his wand, raising it threateningly.
"Oi!" Hagrid threw open his window, "What'yeh think yer doin'?"
Lucius, Narcissa, and Bellatrix ran away.
"Come on," James said, fiercely. He ran after the three cowards, and the other two followed him.
They came up to a large tree. James had just raised his wand when a large limb shot down and hit him in the stomach.
Horrified, James doubled over in pain.
"Did that tree just attack you?" Sirius cried.
Bellatrix cackled. She climbed on top of one of the branches, performing a spell that made her stick to it. As the branch whisked through the air, Bellatrix shot down several jinxes. James and Sirius dove out of the way, just in time.
"Here," Peter panted. He pulled out three small disks that expanded into large shields, courtesy of the Auror Office.
A fierce duel commenced. It was three-on-three, and even though James, Sirius, and Peter were six years younger than the other three, they were still a match.
Eventually, Sirius hooked up a bungee cable onto a tree branch. He and Bellatrix swung around madly, shooting hexes and jinxes at each other.
Down on the ground, Narcissa had regained her sight. She pulled out her own wand. Peter, taken off guard, spun around. A jet of red light burst into his face. He fell back, unconscious.
"Peter!" James rushed forward to try and move his pudgy friend out of the way. He grabbed Peter's shoulders and heaved, but he was too heavy.
He looked around wildly, but Sirius was too busy dueling Bellatrix.
Then, quite suddenly, Lupin appeared, climbing out of a burrow under the tree.
"James, look out!" he roared.
Before James could respond, he felt something hard and thick hit the side of his face. Then, everything faded into a sickening darkness.
His head was killing him. James groaned, opening his eyes.
Madam Pomfrey's reprimanded face swam into view.
"Ah, good, you're awake," Madam Pomfrey said, crisply, "Now I can tell you, in person, how much of an idiot you are. Playing around the Whomping Willow."
"We weren't playing," James said, hotly. He looked around. Sirius, Lupin, and Peter were standing in the corner.
Madam Pomfrey wasn't impressed, "What you are doing is winding up in the Hospital Wing two times in one day. Mark my words, the Headmaster will hear about this."
"Good," James grumbled, "Tell him to tell Mad-Eye that the Auror Shields don't deflect tree limbs."
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips.
"You may leave," she said, "And don't come back here again."
The four filed out into the corridor.
"Here," Lupin pulled out a slab of chocolate, "Eat this."
"Are you mental?" James muttered.
"Trust me," Lupin gave him a wry smile.
James took a bite, and felt an unnatural warmth spread from head to toe.
"Lupin, I saw you," James remembered suddenly, "Right before I got hit."
Lupin shook his head, "What are you going on about, mate?"
Rubbing his head, James said, "You came out of a tunnel."
For a second, Lupin looked stunned. Then, he gave a shaky laugh, saying, "I think you must've hit your head a little harder than you thought, James."
James opened his mouth to protest, but Lupin cut in, "Anyway, I think it's best if you just forget about that tomb."
Sirius grinned, "I know one thing that will take your mind off of it: the first Quidditch game of the season is tomorrow!"