The Vanishing Boot
By the next morning, the school had acquired eight different versions of why James and his roommates had gotten detention. On the way to his first lesson, James caught a group of first-years whispering about an army of jinxed dresser-cabinets making their home in Gryffindor Tower, and the students merely eyed him with borderline antipathy when he ordered them off. Afterwards, in conclusion to an even more painfully quiet History of Magic period than usual, Wilkes and Mulciber happened to pass by James and his friends on the way to the Great Hall for lunch.
"Is it true that you stole the answers to a Transfiguration exam?" Wilkes called out loudly, causing several other students in the hall to pause and listen. "It's a miracle that McGonagall didn't expel you!"
"At the very least, I think that Filch should have taken you down to the dungeons for a little roughing up," Mulciber added, grinning maliciously as Remus and Peter flushed and James and Sirius bristled. "My father has always said that Hogwarts is a little soft; in his day, they used to pin students to the walls if they didn't learn their lesson."
"For your information, we didn't steal anything," James retorted as the other people in the hall looked on in interest. "Unless we stole your intelligence, of course; it's certainly missing, but I don't know what we'd need it for."
Continuing down the corridor, James left the confused Slytherins behind with the laughing crowd. He was positive that Wilkes and his cronies knew why they had really gotten detention, seeing as the incident involved their own House, but they obviously enjoyed leading on the other less informed students. Chancing a glance at his roommates, James spotted Sirius smile wryly over his shoulder and give a huff. The extra attention seemed to bother him the least, most likely because Regulus and his fellow first-year Slytherins were still in the hospital wing recovering from the Bat Bogey Hex. On the other hand, Remus and Peter were still suffering from guilt; even though Peter had looked up at James admiringly after his last remark, he soon returned to staring at the floor in sullen sorrow.
"Come on, let's forget about those prats, all right?" James told Remus and Peter as they entered the Great Hall and made their way towards the Gryffindor table. "Who cares what they say? Everyone knows that they're really the ones who need extra help in Transfiguration."
Although cheerful for a moment, James quickly lost his confident smile as his two friends lowered their heads upon entering the Great Hall, abashed by the judgmental gazes of hundreds of students and professors. Feeling a spark of annoyance, James frowned and stared straight ahead, spying a group of Gryffindors gathered in a tight circle by their table, no doubt eagerly exchanging gossip. As he walked nearer, the students looked at him with wide eyes before jumping back into their whispered conversation with greater urgency.
Clenching his fists, James approached the group and pushed two of its members aside, fighting his way into the middle. "All right, I've had enough! Go find someone else to talk about!"
Scowling as the other students murmured agitatedly, a rather plump girl with light, bouncy hair sniffed from her perch on the bench, wrinkling her already-upturned nose and distorting her scattered pimples. Most of those gathered were a few years older than James, including the girl on the bench, who gave him a judgmental press of her thin lips. However, James was surprised to find a few familiar faces in the crowd, including Morgan McGonagall, Adah Kahtri, and the youngest of the group, Hillary Vance.
"Well, aren't you rude?" the heavy-set girl spoke in a pinched, nasally voice. "We were only having a discussion."
"About us?" James asked angrily, gesturing at his roommates. Crossing his arms, he glared at the disgruntled girl until she turned her rounded chin up even higher.
"So what if we were?" she replied, cross. "I can't help it if you're all the school has to talk about."
"And what is it that everyone's saying?" James demanded. At first, no one seemed to want to break the silence, and Morgan sighed tiredly next to the pimply student, looking bored. After a moment, however, Hillary finally glanced over her shoulders and leaned forward.
"Well," she whispered, her eyebrows lifted as if hoping the four boys would confirm her statement, "Bertha Jorkins says that you snuck into Professor McGonagall's office last night."
Puffing out her chest, the plump girl smirked proudly. "That's right," she announced, pointing to a ringleted girl beside her. "Adelaide here heard the story from Kent Watson, who heard it from Margaret Mayne, who heard it from Sarah Berg, who heard it from her cousin, and the Patterson twins overheard a conversation between Professor Slughorn and Instructor Zunderfield, which filled in the rest of the details."
"Oh?" Remus inquired, frowning.
"Trust me: it gets worse," Morgan spoke up, sharing a glance with Adah.
Sitting up straighter, Jorkins explained, "Kent says that you found a stash of love letters in McGonagall's desk from Professor Flitwick, but she found you before you could get away. You ended up setting the whole office on fire in the struggle to obtain the letters, and McGonagall was so furious that she sentenced you to clean the kitchens for the rest of the year!"
Everyone stared at the four boys expectantly, and there was a brief moment of silence until James and Sirius broke into a fit of uproarious laughter, almost falling to the floor in their mirth. Offended, Jorkins sat back with a sour expression.
"That's the best I've heard yet!" Sirius exclaimed, gasping for breath. Beside him, Peter started giggling as well, and Remus' face had grown a violent shade of red as he tried very hard not to join in.
"It does sound like something we'd do, doesn't it?" James added, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.
"Well, did you or not?" Jorkins demanded.
"I almost wish we had, but no," James answered, still laughing. "Where did you hear that from?"
"From about twelve different sources, sounds like," Sirius interjected, and Remus finally let out a snort as the others erupted into a fresh burst of laughter.
"We tried to tell you, Bertha," Adah sighed, and the rest of the crowd began to shift agitatedly.
"So it's not true?" Hillary asked in surprise, and Morgan gave her a judgmental glance.
"Well, feel free to pass it along!" Sirius told Hillary, calming somewhat. "It's certainly better than saying that we cheated on an exam."
"Did you?" Hillary gasped, astounded, as Remus and Peter reddened again.
"Come on, do you really think we need to?" Sirius responded, and a few of the other students chuckled.
"So what really happened?" Jorkins pleaded, leaning forward.
"Like we'd tell you," James scoffed. "You'd just make a big mess of it!"
Scowling, she wrinkled her nose again. "Would not!"
"Don't change a thing!" Sirius told her. "I like the part about the love letters."
Frustrated, Jorkins stood up and turned away. "Come on," she commanded, and several of the other students jumped up to follow her out of the Great Hall. Of the older students, only Morgan and Adah stayed behind, and the latter turned to James.
"Sorry about Bertha. She's a real pill," she apologized, and Morgan sighed.
"I've put up with her for six years, and she still gets under my skin," she announced, and she and Adah left the second-years standing alone.
Just before Hillary could follow after the other students, James grabbed her arm and pointed towards Jorkins' receding back. "Do you know her?"
"I've seen her in the common room from time to time," Hillary replied, flipping one of her braids over her shoulder, "but I make it a point not to talk to her if I can avoid it. She doesn't strike me as very bright."
"You seemed interested enough in her story," Remus pointed out with a raised eyebrow, and her ears turned pink. Before she could open her mouth again, however, James waved her off.
"Go on, find yourself another bench. This is our spot."
Disgruntled, Hillary stalked off and left the four roommates on their own. Sitting down as one, they all looked at each other as James raised a fork into the air. "And that, gentlemen, is how you stop a rumor!"
After eyeing James for a moment, Remus smiled. "I'll give you one thing: you certainly don't let anything get to you."
"What else are you supposed to do?" Sirius asked, helping himself to a serving of fried potatoes.
Although Remus and Peter held their heads higher throughout the rest of the day, they relapsed into a state of retentive silence when Filch escorted the four boys to the Forbidden Forest in the evening. Not yet beneath the horizon, the sun washed the line of trees as the small group approached the Gamekeeper's hut near the edge of the woods. As he neared the cabin, James squinted and spotted Hagrid's giant form coming out from the door, his monstrous boarhound, Fang, slipping out after him. When Filch led the boys within hearing range, Hagrid nodded in recognition.
"I'll take 'em from 'ere, Filch," he announced. "It'll be a long night."
"I don't envy you," Filch wheezed to the boys with a sickening smile. "Good luck."
Waddling off, he left them standing in an anticipatory silence. "So, what are we doing?" James finally asked.
"Don't sound so cheerful abou' it," Hagrid told him, throwing him a look. "This is supposed ter be a punishment, remember?"
"Right," James answered, adjusting his voice to sound more solemn as Hagrid turned around to grab something by the door.
"Where are we going?" Peter asked, rubbing his arms. "It's freezing out here!"
"In there," Hagrid replied, pointing over his shoulder at the dark trees behind his cabin. Alarmed, the boys exchanged wide-eyed glances.
"What?" Sirius demanded.
"I need ter check out some complaints I've been gettin' from the centaurs about intruders wanderin' in the forest," Hagrid explained, turning back around and slinging a massive machete over his shoulder. "It shouldn't be difficult, but it migh' take all night."
"But we can't go in there!" Peter exclaimed, hurrying after Hagrid as he took several giant steps towards the forest's edge. "It's dangerous!"
"There's nothin' ter fear if I'm with yeh," Hagrid told him without stopping. "Ere, Fang," he added, snapping his fingers at his dog, which had fallen behind and had begun to whimper.
"Peter's right!" James interjected, stopping short as Hagrid entered the Forbidden Forest and turned around. "There are . . . I mean . . ." Not wanting to appear frightened, he broke off and fought back a gulp. "There are werewolves in there."
Having declared this ultimatum, James stood firmly back with the others, who had clumped together at his sides. Standing just as immovably, Hagrid stared back and waited for them to follow. After a few long, dragged-out heartbeats, Remus seemed to resign himself to his fate; he sighed, straightened his shoulders, and walked into the Forbidden Forest with determination. Content, Hagrid turned back around to lead the way, and the others gaped at their receding forms.
"Wait!" James called after them, but neither one looked back. Glancing at the others, he searched for some sort of support and received only wide-eyed stares. Moving as one, they all broke into a run and shot into the forest while Fang barked at their heels. Once they caught up to Hagrid, they gathered around Remus, who, despite his previous show of bravery, huddled closer to them as he eyed the looming trees overhead.
As the sun rapidly fell, neither the light of the moon nor the shine of the stars broke past the canopy of leaves shielding the bottom of the forest. Too busy glancing at the dark treetops to notice the forest floor, Peter tripped over a total of six roots before he learned to watch his footing. Although he could not see anything in the gloom, James kept hearing eerie noises coming from the distance, and he breathed a bit easier when Hagrid procured a lantern from within his heavy fur coat and lit it. However, the surroundings seemed somehow even more mysterious in the bobbing light, which accentuated the deep, rolling fog.
Several minutes dragged by, and still they walked onwards. As his eyes began to adjust to the blackness, James turned his head at the distant noises in the trees, and he had to fight to keep from jumping at every sound. Eventually, when he started for what seemed like the hundredth time, the noise that had caught his attention only grew louder the longer he listened to it. Opening his mouth to alert Hagrid to the thundering rhythm, he hushed as the Gamekeeper placed a protective arm in front of the boys and stopped them.
"Hold still," Hagrid commanded, and they all held their breaths as the pounding grew closer. Despite his efforts, James could not tell which way the sound was coming from, either due to the magic nature of the Forbidden Forest or the many layers of dead leaves littering the ground. Only when several large shapes broke out of the nearby trees and Peter yelped did James understand the source of the pounding.
Heads tossing, the wild-haired centaurs pawed the ground with their hooves, covered in dirt and flecks of dead grass. All of them held roughly-hewn bows, and they each had a quiver of arrows hanging over their shoulders, the shafts sticking up like fungi from a rotting tree. One of the centaurs reared as he circled the small group, and the boys all took a step back as the human-like faces stared down at them with dark eyes.
"Why have you brought them here, Hagrid?" one of the largest centaurs asked, flicking his long tail around his chestnut flank. "The young will only get in the way."
"It's all righ', Magorian," Hagrid told the centaur, and although polite, he sounded just as unpleased to see them as they looked of him. "I jus' brought 'em to help."
"We don't need help from foals," another, younger centaur growled, stamping a large, black leg.
"I can't look around the whole forest by meself," Hagrid told the black centaur, and Magorian held out a hand to stop his companion from retorting.
"Be still, Bane," he commanded before addressing Hagrid. "We will let them pass through, but we are not responsible for ensuring their safety. It is your duty to bring your young out of our territory by sunrise."
"And make sure to take the rest of them with you!" Bane called out, and a few other voices behind him murmured assent.
"I don't think tha' students have been trespassin' in the forest," Hagrid told him as he scratched the back of his neck, and his sigh made it sound as if he had already gone over the subject before. "They know better than ter wander through restricted areas."
"The tracks belong to your kind, of that I am sure," Bane argued, glaring down at James and his roommates. "We have not had the pleasure of meeting the intruders yet, but I will be more than happy to send them back with a few arrows in their spines when we do."
"Where did you find the tracks?" Hagrid asked.
"They start over by the cliff face," Magorian answered, pointing into the distant fog. "We've tracked them as far as the fork in the river."
Turning on his back legs, he signaled to the rest of the herd, and they prepared to leave. Before the pounding of hooves could drown out his words, he added over his shoulder, "If you need us, we won't be there. Be sure to make it out by morning!"
Huffing, Hagrid shook his head as the herd galloped into the night. "Righ' useful tha' was. Don't mind them—they've spent a little too much time in the woods."
Leading the way towards the spot that Magorian had indicated, Hagrid kept his lantern held high to light the small party's path of travel. Whining at his heels, Fang pressed his nose against every rock and leaf he passed, drinking in its scent. Considerably less interested in the forest floor, James and the other boys did not look down until Hagrid stopped a short distance from a rising wall of earth and stone.
"Look down there," their guide commanded, pointing at a patch of trampled grass and twigs.
"That's it?" James asked, unimpressed; he could not spot any visible footprints in the tangled foliage. "Are you sure those are footprints?"
"No, not really," Hagrid answered, staring at the spot skeptically. "It looks like a 'erd of Manticores passed through 'ere."
"I'll bet that the centaurs were just blaming us for the fun of it," Sirius scoffed. "It was probably just a couple of deer or something."
"Well, better take a look around jus' ter be sure," Hagrid announced. "Do yeh know how ter light yer wands? I didn't bring extra lanterns."
"Yeah," James answered, and Peter started.
"We're splitting up?" he squeaked, glancing around at the thick fog.
"Jus' fer a bit, now," Hagrid comforted. "We'll cover more ground tha' way. The two of yeh follow me," he said, pointing at Remus and Peter before turning to the others. "Yeh can take Fang. Don't stray too far, and meet me back here in thirty minutes. Give a shout if yeh see anythin' suspicious."
Turning around, Hagrid led Remus and Peter off into the forest while Fang nosed James' hand, leaving a wet streak on his palm. Now engulfed in darkness, James and Sirius glanced around at the echoing noises around them for a few long moments. Slowly, both of them pulled out their wands.
"Lumos!" they whispered in unison, and their wand-tips began to glow with a bright, white light. Despite the small circle of illumination, the trees looked just as forlorn as they had before.
"Well, I guess we should go this way," James finally piped up, stepping in the opposite direction.
He and Sirius made their way through the mossy foliage as best they could without tripping over anything or losing Fang, who trotted reluctantly after them. Once in a while, James spotted another patch of trampled grass, and he used what little sense of direction he had in the oppressive darkness to keep moving forward. Time seemed to drag as they continued tracking the broken twigs, and sometimes they had to stop for minutes at a time to locate the next set of footprints due to the fog. To further complicate matters, the frequency of the overturned leaf patches diminished the farther they traveled from the cliffside where their group had split up, and they finally stopped to catch their breaths.
"Are you sure that we're going the right way?" Sirius asked, looking over his shoulders.
"I don't know," James answered, glancing around uncertainly. "Maybe we should go back. I think the river might be in the other direction."
"Wait, I think that Fang's found something!" Sirius interjected, and they both rushed over to the dark object that Fang was standing over and sniffing.
"Don't touch that!" James ordered, yanking Fang back from his find before he could knock it over. Moaning moodily, Fang trotted to his other side as he and Sirius got a good look at the object.
"It's a boot," Sirius said.
James nodded. It was most certainly a boot, and not a quality one at that. Mold covered the leather where the shoe lay sideways on the forest floor, and the heel hung loosely from the rest of the sole. Prodding it with his foot, James wondered just how long it had been sitting in the forest.
"What's it doing here?" Sirius asked, frowning. "Who drops their shoe in the center of centaur territory?" Bending down, he prepared to pick it up.
"Look over there!" James cried abruptly, causing his friend to stand up again. "It's another patch!" he explained, pointing at a scuffed-up area of grass. "If someone was here, we just need to follow the footprints to wherever they went!"
"Let's go!" Sirius agreed, and he followed James away from the shoe still lying on the forest floor. Bounding into a slow lope, Fang ran ahead into the darkness in his eagerness, and together the three began to race forward to another area of broken twigs and then another.
Heart thumping, James strained his eyes for the next patch of trampled leaves, and he did not spot the rock sticking up from the forest floor until it was too late. Falling with a grunt, he pushed himself up as his wand flickered and gave out, and he had just enough time to check his palms for blood before the light disappeared.
"Hey, wait a minute!" he yelled ahead to Sirius and Fang, but neither of them seemed to hear him. "Hey, come back!" he tried again, but Sirius' wand light grew smaller and smaller with each second, eventually disappearing altogether.
Alone, James stood and brushed himself off, glancing around at the dark forest. Even with his glasses on, he could not make out his hands until he held them just in front of his face. Too worried that he would attract unwanted attention if he called for help, he stood still for a few moments and thought about his next course of action. Eventually Sirius would notice his absence, but it might take several agonizing minutes that James did not want to spend alone in the gloom. Wishing for light, he remembered his fallen wand and fell to his hands and knees to search for it.
Although he could not see the ground, he used his sense of touch to examine the moist leaves and pebbles under his feet until his hand finally closed around something thin and wooden. Standing up, James brushed off his robes again and whispered, "Lumos."
When nothing happened, he gave his wand a shake. "Lumos!" The night stayed as dark as ever, and James began to panic. He had never heard of wands not responding to their owners before, but he was sure that he had performed the spell correctly—hadn't he?
Attempting the incantation once more, making sure to execute the correct wand movement, James blinked as nothing happened. Suddenly paranoid, he looked over both his shoulders into the unrelenting blackness and wondered if something out there was keeping him from performing the spell. Instantly, he called to mind dozens of vicious monsters and hungry animals, but he shook off the thoughts with a shudder. Nothing but the shifting of his own two feet greeted his ears; as far as he could tell, he was utterly alone.
As soon as the last thought crossed his mind, he recalled the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson on boggarts. Could Professor Alamanzar be right? Was James really afraid of being alone? Glancing around, James began to wonder if it was at least the smallest bit true.
Just as he decided to start off after Sirius, he spotted a small speck of light in the forest far ahead and relaxed. By the rhythm of its bobbing movement, James guessed that it belonged to Hagrid's lantern.
"Hagrid!" he yelled, stumbling forward. "Hagrid, it's me!" When he began to near the light, it stopped short and wavered in place. "Hagrid?"
No response came his way, and he soon halted as well and stared at the distant light, suddenly wondering if it belonged to the gamekeeper after all as he thought back on an old lecture on hinkypunks. Timidly, the speck bobbed up and down as if its bearer had taken a step closer, and James backed away in response. No sooner had he put more distance between him and the lantern did the light blink out, enveloping the forest in complete darkness once again.
Confused, James wondered whether he should continue forward or not, but a sudden rustling from the side soon distracted him. Stumbling backwards, he squinted in an attempt to spot the source of the disturbance, but he ended up tripping once again over a protruding root. Freezing, he hardly dared to breathe as the rustling quieted and then started again, soon turning into the soft padding of giant footsteps against the cool dampness of the forest floor. In the space of a few rapid heartbeats, James could hear the quiet rumble of breathing and something that sounded a lot like sniffing. Whatever stood in front of him took another step forward, and James felt his muscles start to cramp as a droplet of sweat creeped down his forehead.
Suddenly, pounding feet sounded from the left, and James' heart gave a leap as he heard Hagrid's booming voice cry out and spotted his lantern swinging from side to side. As Hagrid, Remus, Peter, Sirius, and Fang all came running into view, James looked back in front of him and gave a gasp as he saw for the first time the terrifying beast standing over him. Illuminated by the light of Hagrid's lantern, the huge, canine creature drew its ears back and snarled at James, crouching for a pounce. Holding his hands over his head, James prepared to feel the searing rip of fangs into his skin, but his attacker simply leapt over him and ran into the trees. Only the creature's yellow eyes and teeth flashed in the dim light of Hagrid's lantern before it completely disappeared into the night.
"James! Are yeh all right?" Hagrid yelled, dropping to his knees and helping James to his feet.
"I didn't know where you had gone!" Sirius exclaimed. "I thought that I'd lost you when I ran into the others!"
"I'm glad that you came when you did!" James told them, brushing himself off. "It was about to tear me apart!"
"What are yeh talkin' about?" Hagrid asked, tilting his head. Breathing heavily, James looked into the faces of the others and met similar looks of puzzlement.
"There was a giant werewolf right in front of me!" James exclaimed, astounded. "Didn't you see it?"
Gasping, Peter and Sirius stared at him with wide eyes, and the former clapped his hand to his mouth. "You saw a werewolf?" Peter yelped, and James nodded fervently.
Sighing, Remus shook his head. "There aren't any werewolves in the forest."
"Yes, there are!" James disagreed, crossing his arms. "It was about to eat me alive!"
"Lily's right: Dumbledore wouldn't allow them to live outside of the castle," Remus countered, brushing him off with a hint of irritation.
"I know what I saw," James argued, glaring at him.
"Werewolves aren't like centaurs," Remus replied, throwing him a similar look. "You can't keep them next to a school full of humans and expect them to stay put. Besides, it's not even the full moon! How could you have seen a werewolf if it's not time for their transformation?"
Realizing that he did not have an answer for this, James closed his mouth and stared at the ground. Finally, he kicked at the grass and muttered, "Well, I saw something, and it looked an awful lot like a werewolf." Looking up again, he spotted Hagrid and noted that the giant man had frozen stiff, his great big ruddy face screwed up as if it might burst. "What is it?" James questioned, tilting his head as he temporarily forgot his frustration.
"Er—nothin'," Hagrid replied quickly, turning an even darker shade of rust. Pointing at James' hand, he quickly switched topics. "Why are yeh holdin' tha' stick?"
Looking down, James saw that he was clutching a twig, and he dropped hurriedly. "Uh, no reason," he replied, glancing around before changing the subject himself. "So how did you find me?"
"Sirius took us back in the direction where he had last seen you," Remus answered, looking up at the canopy of treetops as if composing himself again. "But why did you get separated in the first place?"
"We found a boot, and we started following the footprints," James told him, turning to Sirius. "Did you find anything?"
Shaking his head, Sirius replied, "It came to a dead end."
"A boot?" Hagrid asked, frowning. "Where did yeh find it?"
"Over here," James beckoned. "Follow me!"
Running through the trees, he led the way as best he could remember back to where Fang had stumbled upon the abandoned boot, bending down to scoop up his fallen wand where it still lay on the forest floor along the way. After a few minutes, he recognized the nearby foliage and began to slow, turning to wave at the others before looking back at where he had last seen the shoe. Starting, he stared at the ground as he slid to a rapid halt.
The boot was nowhere to be seen.
"'Ave you found it?" Hagrid asked after catching up, and James gestured at the empty grass.
"It was right here, I swear!" he exclaimed, walking around to peer under the nearby bushes. "It couldn't have moved!"
"He's right!" Sirius added when the others blinked at James. "This is where we were! We've only been gone a few minutes!"
Exchanging glances, the others stayed quiet while James and Sirius continued searching. Soon enough, they admitted defeat and stood up.
"I can't find it," James muttered, "but it was here."
"Well, I can't say tha' we've 'ad much luck, either," Hagrid told him. "We've spotted nothin' but rocks an' twigs fer the last half hour. At least fer now, I think it's a better idea if we stick together," he said, casting a worried glance at the empty grass around James' feet.
His head lowered, James trudged after Hagrid and the others without a word, and Sirius gave him one last look before staring ahead. Although the group continued on in silence, James wrestled with his thoughts as he snuck a glance back over his shoulder again. Had he really seen all that he thought he had, or was the Forbidden Forest playing tricks on his mind? At least he could rest assured that Sirius had seen the boot, but James could not help but doubt the existence of the werewolf. At this point, he could not even be sure that he had seen the distant lantern. The only thing that kept him from completely abandoning the memories of his nighttime experiences was his stubbornness, which dared to hold on to the hope that he was still sane after all. Sighing, he put his hands into his pockets and contented to say nothing more about the boot or the werewolf for the moment, and he followed after the others whilst making care to watch his footing.