Chapter 2 – The Beginning and First Year Part 1
A/N: Hey guys I hope you like the story so far! Sorry it took this long I rewrote the chapter plus I have school. RATE AND REVIEW PLEASE AND THANK YOU! DISCLAIMER: CHARACTERS BELONG TO J.K. ROWLING
Hermione let out a small giggle, "Thank you Sirius but I insist you call me Hermione or Mya."
"Mya?" Lily asked.
"Yes, Harry gave me that name." Lily smiled when Hermione looked away. She wondered whether or not this girl was anything more to her son but couldn't think of a way to ask.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) Sirius took the job out of her hands, "So you and Harry are…" Sirius waggled his eyebrows suggestively internally congratulating his godson on such a fine catch in the future.
"What?! God no! Harry is like my brother! Even if he wasn't I could never think of him like that, Ginny would hex me-"
"Who is this Ginny then?" Remus interrupted with a sly grin.
Hermione cursed herself, "We'll get to Ginny later on. Can we please just start from the beginning?"
The others nodded, the boys were particularly pleased with what they had heard. A wail was heard from above, James chuckled, "Looks like the future Casanova is up from his nap." He went upstairs and returned a minute later with a small baby boy with a tuft of jet black hair and clear green eyes. Hermione didn't what she was feeling looking at the baby that would become her best friend. All those years together she had seen him do some incredible things and watching him being a strong leader and good friend. It was like he was made for his role in life. But now seeing like him this, as a sweet innocent infant and knowing his future should she fail made the job all the more important.
Hermione didn't realise the others were watching her stare at the baby until Remus said, "It must be weird seeing him like this."
"Yes it is. I'm used to grown up Harry or at least the little midget from our first year." They all cracked a smile.
"Shall we begin then Ms. Granger?" Albus was most unwilling to interrupt this serene moment but if he knew that if they wanted to preserve their happiness they had to get started.
"Yes professor," Hermione picked her beaded bag and brought out a file folder labelled "beginning and first year". She had six matching folders for the following years each filled with her notes, the letters, pictures and such. "These are my notes," she explained, "I'm not allowed to leave anything behind when I return so someone will need to be our scribe."
"I'll do it," Remus went over to the writing desk in the corner and pulled a fresh sheaf of parchments and quill and sat back down to begin.
"Perfect," Hermione looked through the pages in her lap and said, "Okay. The beginning is little sketchy but to Harry's understanding this is how it goes – On the night Lily and James die Harry is rescued from this house by Hagrid who takes him to Privet Drive to live with Lily's sister Petunia and her family. They are his only living relatives."
"No he can't live there," said Lily. "My sister hates my guts ever since I got to go to Hogwarts and she didn't. I don't expect her to all that welcoming to my son."
"Besides, where am I? I'm his godfather, I can take him in." Sirius was shocked and stared at Hermione who hung her head and murmured,
"I'm so sorry Sirius, there were many reasons why Harry had to go live there but the reason you didn't take him was because," Hermione sighed and tried to think of way to say this, "you were seeking revenge and got arrested because of it." Hot guilt rolled through Sirius at the thought.
"There is more to that story isn't there," said James. It wasn't an accusation or a question, just a statement of what everyone had already figured out.
"Yes," said Hermione simply, "I will tell you everything but for now back to Harry. According to what little we could get from the Dursleys, they found Harry on their doorstep with a letter from Albus explaining what had happened to the Potters and the request for them to take him in." Everyone noticed Hermione's eyes go cold and angry as she continued, "But they didn't. They didn't even tell him he was a wizard. They were absolutely horrible to Harry. They lied about how James and Lily died. They punished him for his accidental magic which included starving him and locking him in the cupboard under the stairs which was his bedroom."
"What do you mean that they lied about Lily and James?" Sirius asked through gritted teeth.
"Harry was told that Lily and James died in car accident – presumably drunk – and that was where was his scar, which he got from the rebounded killing curse, came from.
Lily stood up in outrage, "Petunia did that to my son! Oh I have a few lovely words for my darling sister and her hippo of a husband." She continued ranting under her breath while James tried to calm her down though he too was furious.
Hermione had paper-clipped a note from Harry at this point in her notes. It was addressed to Lily, James and Sirius so she took it out and said, "Harry asked that I give you this at this point." She handed the note across to Sirius who scooted a little in his seat so Lily and James could see the note too. It read –
Dear Mom, Dad, and Sirius
I figure you must be feeling terrible for what happened to me at the Dursleys (I know Sirius did when I told him) but I want you to know that there was nothing you could have done. Getting angry or feeling guilty won't change things. I guess I just wanted you to know that I love you all and don't blame you in the slightest.
- Harry
They smiled a little and all three looked down at the baby in James's lap who looked smiled back at them. James blinked rapidly while nodding and gesturing for Hermione to continue "Go ahead Mya,"
"Okay, the summer Harry turns 11 he received his Hogwarts letter but the Dursleys confiscate it and burn it, they also moved him into his cousin's second bedroom because the letter mentioned his cupboard. Unfortunately for the Dursleys it takes a lot more than that to stop Hogwarts." Hermione's eyes scanned her notes while she said, "After having letters pushed through doors, windows, finding them inside eggs, and finally having thirty something letters shoot out of the chimney Uncle Vernon had had enough. He had the family pack some clothes and left the house to go somewhere that the letters couldn't find them."
"As if that idiot could outsmart our Minnie," grinned James. McGonagall glared at him and shot a look at Dumbledore who immediately wiped the smile from his face although his eyes still twinkled.
Hermione continued, "Anyway, they tried going to a hotel but the letters arrived there. Ultimately they ended up in this shack on this tiny island out on the ocean. This was the day before Harry's birthday so he was up, counting down to midnight while there was a bad storm outside, when they got a visitor."
"Who on earth would be mad enough to go out there?" Remus asked.
"Hagrid. According to Harry, he broke down the door, gave him cake, made tea and sausages, told him he was a wizard that – as a baby – brought down one of the most evil wizards of all time and rounded the whole thing off by giving his cousin a pig's tail."
"That sounds about right for Hagrid," Remus shook his amusedly.
Lily sighed and looked at her son, "Well not precisely what I would have done but if I had to pick a welcoming to the wizarding world committee Hagrid is an excellent choice."
"I agree, plus the whole thing sounds entertaining." James laughed a little.
"Harry always said it was one of his best birthdays ever. Seeing his cousin for the next month with a pig's tail was the single most satisfying revenge for all the years of bullying." Hermione giggled.
"I can imagine," Sirius chuckled. "At least he got the marauder mentality eh Prongs. Seems like it genetic."
"A born-marauder, literally," Remus chimed in with an imaginary toast.
"I'm so proud," James fake-wiped a tear.
"Ignore them Mya, go on." Lily rolled her eyes but smiled a little at her boys' theatrics.
"Well the next day Hagrid took Harry to Diagon Alley. They were stopped in the Leaky Cauldron where Harry was greeted by the entire bar including our DADA teacher Professor Quirrell."
"The 'jinx' still in effect I take it?" Dumbledore asked.
"Unfortunately (or I suppose fortunately in this instance thought Hermione), yes. So Hagrid then took Harry to Gringotts where they visited his vault and a top security vault that all it appeared to hold was a tiny package. Hagrid said it was top secret Hogwarts business. When they left Gringotts, Hagrid was feeling ill from the carts and needed something to drink so he left Harry to go to Madam Malkin's where he met none other than Draco Malfoy – your cousin Narcissa's son Sirius."
"Oh that is just bloody fantastic!" Sirius dragged a hand down his face. "Harry has no clue about the wizarding world and his first outside introduction to it will be the offspring of my crazy cousin and her darling death eater husband."
"Don't worry Sirius Harry had the sense not to believe what he heard and Hagrid set him straight after he got out of the shop. They continued shopping and Hagrid bought Harry his first ever birthday present – an owl that he named Hedwig."
"That was his first birthday present?" James asked quietly.
"Well it's the first proper one, Harry said that ones that Dursleys gave him could not be considered gifts on any level." Hermione frowned.
James sighed as his two best friends looked at him in sympathy. As soon as he found out Lily was expecting, James had spent weeks going on and on about how much he was going to spoil the baby and shower it with presents. Lily placed her hand on James' shoulder and nodded at Hermione to go on.
"Well the time came for Harry to purchase his wand. He met Ollivander and tried several before finding his own - holly and phoenix feather – Ollivander said that this was curious and when asked why he told Harry that his wand is the brother to that of Lord Voldemort."
This information was met with shocked gasps and looks of complete astonishment. Dumbledore was the first to speak, "That does make Harry a bad person or akin to Voldemort in anyway. No doubt his past had effect on his chosen wand."
"Albus is right," said McGonagall, "That suggests nothing about Harry."
"Harry is the honourable person I know. I can assure you that he is nothing like Voldemort." Hermione put in. The others calmed down and nodded, still trying to digest this information. Hermione decided to just keep going, "Harry spent his last month with the Dursleys and got them to give him a ride to King's Cross Station to get the train the next day. Upon arrival they left him at the station and because Hagrid had forgotten to tell him how to get through the barrier he was somewhat stranded for some time."
"But – but – P – Petunia – SHE KNOWS! SHE KNOWS WHERE IT IS AND HOW TO GET IN!" Lily spluttered and exploded in fury, "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME SHE LEFT MY CHILD ALONE IN THE HEART OF LONDON JUST TO GET EVEN WITH ME! I'M DEAD FOR GODSAKE!" Tears of anger began spill down her cheeks that her only sister had so little regard for her that she would abuse her child like this especially since that what had caused her sister to resent her wasn't even her fault. Harry began to cry at the loud noise and Lily rocked the infant, trying to calm him and herself down. James looked on helplessly, at a total loss on what to do. He watched while his wife tried to come to terms with her sister and fail and knew that there was nothing that could be done for the situation. He looked desperately at the Hermione, hoping that whatever happens next can help distract them from this.
Hermione met James' look and bobbed her head, "Lily relax, Harry came across another wizarding family, the Weasleys –"
"You mean Arthur and Molly's family?" Remus asked.
"The same. Molly showed Harry how to get on the platform and her twin sons Fred and George helped him load his stuff. While on the train, he met the youngest Weasley boy Ronald, and they became fast friends over sweets that Harry had bought off the trolley. That's also where I come in. I was helping another boy named Neville Longbottom -"
"Alice's child?" Lily looked up.
"Yes. He had a toad named Trevor and kept losing him. So I came into Ron and Harry's compartment looking for the toad and well it wasn't the best meeting possible. In fact, we sort of came away from that meeting not liking each other very much."
"Reminds me of my first time," said Lily reminiscently. "I ran into these three idiots my first time on the train and thought they were the biggest prats ever. Took me years to become friends with them."
Hermione laughed, "Thankfully for me it was only a few months but anyway after making the journey across the lake, it was time for the Sorting. I was sorted into Gryffindor then after a while it was Harry's turn. The Hat took a while with him which he told me later on was because that the Hat had considered putting him in Slytherin but -" she quickly forestalled the shock, "he insisted he be put in Gryffindor which it did."
"I didn't know the Hat took requests." Remus said dubiously.
"I did," said Sirius and all eyes went to him, "I begged the Hat to not put in me in Slytherin. I suppose if you've got good enough reason or feel that strongly about it, it will take your opinion into consideration."
Dumbledore nodded, "It's the Hat's job to place you in the house where you belong and you don't belong anywhere you genuinely don't want to be."
"Well whatever the reason, Harry joined Gryffindor table followed by Ron. That is where for the first time he laid eyes on our Potions master Severus Snape who was speaking to Quirrell."
"That greasy git is professor?!" demanded Sirius. James hung his head, oh this is bad – this is very, very, bad.
"But I thought he was a death eater!" Remus looked not at Hermione but Dumbledore.
"As I have not hired him yet nor had any dealings with him since his school days I cannot tell you why I would do such a thing. I assume I had my reasons Ms. Granger?"
"Yes you did. But unfortunately Snape's story will come later on. For now the only significant thing you need to know right now is that while looking at Snape, his scar burned for the first time."
"Why would that happen? Why is that significant?" McGonagall asked.
"I'm afraid both of those questions will have to wait until later but I assure you they will be answered. The other significant thing you should know about the feast was that in Professor Dumbledore's speech he warned us that the – and I quote – 'third floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone does not wish to die a most painful death'."
"Lovely Albus," groaned McGonagall. "The one way to ensure the students go there – make it forbidden. I thought the marauders would've taught you that much."
"Harry goes there, doesn't he?" Lily grimaced knowing the truth.
"Only twice, and he wasn't alone." Hermione said in a small voice that deceived no one.
Lily looked down at her son in her lap, "Well I suppose I'll reserve judgement for when the time comes."
"Don't worry that doesn't happen for a while. The first few weeks were normal enough."
"How were lessons with Snape?" asked Lily icily, glaring at her boys. All three marauders looked at Hermione with such fearful eyes that she sent them an apologetic look.
"They weren't that great. I mean Snape was a rather mean teacher but otherwise -"
"What – was – he – like – to – Harry?" Lily's voice cut the air and Hermione winced.
"Well…" The three marauders dropped their heads into their hands and Hermione decided to just get it over with. "He was horrible to Harry. He made it no secret from the very first lesson that he hated Harry. He had asked Harry a whole bunch of advanced questions and taunted him about his celebrity status. Harry stood his ground and gave him cheek for which he lost a point. He then blamed Harry when another student got his potion wrong and deducted another point. Believe me things did not get better either, even in later years."
The marauders swiveled their attention from Hermione to Lily who gave them a glare that was the very definition of 'if looks could kill' they braced themselves for the hell they were about to receive, "Do you see what you caused? Do you see the impact of your actions? I told you countless times to lay off Snape. Now look what you've done to your son/godson/nephew. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Completely and utterly pointless!" They all looked down while the others watched on in sympathy. Lily herself was just barely restraining her emotions. Harry was her child too. Didn't that mean anything to her childhood friend? First her sister now Sev? What was next? She finished yelling at her boys by bestowing withering glare on the trio. Hermione took that as cue to move on.
"After our first potions lesson, Harry and Ron went to Hagrid for tea. There Harry saw a copy of the Prophet that featured a story about a break in of a high security vault at Gringotts."
"There was a break in? How is that possible?" Sirius remembered how deeply guarded the vaults were and the high security ones would be even more so. Dumbledore was more focused on who could possibly pull this off and only one being came to mind.
"That's not all," Hermione said. "The vault was empty and it just so happened that it occurred on Harry's birthday."
Lily gasped, "The same day Harry was in Diagon Alley?"
"So the thing that Hagrid got…the top secret Hogwarts business…" James was getting progressively paler with every word.
"Yes, Harry deduced that was the case. But he couldn't get a word out of Hagrid on the matter. So noth-"
"Just give Hagrid something to drink and he'll tell you anything." This came surprisingly from Remus who was grinning wickedly just like his two best friends.
Lily rubbed her forehead wearily, "I'm not gonna ask, I'm just not gonna ask." Professor McGonagall however,
"Really you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Hagrid is your friend not someone you use like that." They had the decency to look embarrassed even if only slightly.
"Like I was saying, nothing really special happened until our first flying lesson." The marauders were predictably roused from their guilty thoughts; Lily rolled her eyes and recalled James' words from their Hogwarts days 'Quidditch heals all wounds'.
"We were paired with the Slytherins." 'That means trouble' was the unanimous thought. "Harry was one the few who was able to get his broom off the ground at the first try."
"Good sign," murmured James.
"Then as we were learning to kick off, Neville who was really nervous, kicked really hard and flew high into the air, only to fall off breaking his wrist. Don't worry he was okay. Madam Hooch took him to the hospital wing with the order that no one was to fly."
"She just left Gryffindors and Slytherins together! With brooms!" McGonagall dare not think of all the possible outcomes that could happen especially with the Marauders' heir present.
"Yes she did and no sooner was she gone that the trouble started. Malfoy and the other Slytherins thought it was hilarious and then he found the Remembrall that Neville's gran had sent him and decided he would hide up a tree or something. He took off on his broom and Harry decided to go after him."
"But he doesn't know how to fly yet!" Lily went wide-eyed.
"Well apparently flying is in Harry's blood because he took off like a pro. Malfoy was so shocked he didn't know what to do, especially when Harry shot past him nearly knocking him off his broom. That was when Malfoy decided to throw the Remembrall and Harry went into a fifty foot dive, catching the ball and landing without even scratching himself."
"Alright Prongslet!" cheered Sirius.
"Pure Potter awesomeness son," James looked proudly at his baby boy even bumping fists with the infant. Remus didn't comment but was grinning widely all the same. Lily could think of so many problems with this but seeing the guys so happy, she let it go. After all Harry was safe and he was sticking up for his friend. She said instead,
"I hope he didn't get into too much trouble."
Hermione smirked, "Quite the opposite, you see he was seen by our dear Head of House. Who took him straight to -" She paused for dramatic effect all the while extremely amused by the sight of three full grown men on the edge of their seats.
No one was surprised when after a grand total of two seconds Sirius burst out, "Who? The headmaster? Filch? Her office? Don't leave us in suspense Mya PLEASE!"
"Wrong, wrong, and wrong Sirius. She took him to Oliver Wood who was Quidditch captain at the time." The men now wore dumbfounded expressions and openly gaped at their favourite professor who shocked them further by blushing. Albus chuckled making McGonagall go even deeper red. Hermione took pity on the older woman and continued, "She told Wood that she had found him a seeker. She was hoping to break Slytherin's winning streak and thus Harry became the youngest Seeker in a century."
"GO MINNIE!" yelled the Marauders. Lily giggled, bouncing the baby in her lap. In truth, she was very proud of her son even if she didn't exactly approve of what he did. James was practically glowing over this news, even though he believed what Mya was saying he felt rather detached from the Harry she talked about but now he felt a small connection to this incredible boy that his baby was going to grow into.
Hermione felt like she was reliving the whole thing over again but she winced when she realised she had to break this happy moment. She glanced at the baby and thought, 'story of our lives literally and figuratively eh Har?', "Okay okay calm down. At dinner that night, Malfoy came over to taunt Harry some more and Ron sort of…well…got him into a wizard's duel." The laughter died almost immediately and Lily appeared ready to freak out again. "I know it sounds bad but hear me out. They made the deal to meet in the trophy room at midnight for the duel. Harry and Ron were leaving the tower when they ran into me. I had overheard them at dinner and tried to stop but they wouldn't listen. I followed them out of the tower but when I turned to go back in, the Fat Lady had left."
Momentarily distracted McGonagall said exasperatedly, "She really needs to stop doing that. Especially at night time when people are trying to sneak in and out."
"Anyway, I decided to stay with them and we ran into Neville who had forgotten the password. When we got to the trophy room no one was there and then we heard Filch coming. We ran as far away as we could but met up with Peeves. Ron got angry and tried taking a swipe at Peeves who then started screaming at the top of his non-existent lungs. We came to door that was locked and I used Alohomora to open it. We listened as Filch came running but Peeves wouldn't tell him anything so Filch left and that was when we discovered why the door was locked."
Remus pinched the bridge of nose, "You were in the third floor corridor on the right hand side weren't you?" Lily started to chant 'this hasn't happened yet' over and over under her breath.
"Yes we were. You see…well…inside the corridor…was…we were so distracted with Filch…but HOW we didn't notice is still beyond me…"
"Just get it over with Mya, it can't be that bad." Sirius said.
"Actually Sirius it is. You see in the corridor was huge three-headed dog."
"WHAT!" Hermione flinched and hurried on.
"We obviously left there immediately and ran back to the tower. Once inside, the boys started to debate why on earth there was such a thing in the castle and that was when I pointed out that it was standing on a trapdoor and so it was clearly guarding something and went to bed. Now, Ron and Harry would be extremely put off if I didn't tell you my parting line which haunted for me the next six years." Hermione had long stopped being embarrassed but still blushed all the same when she read out, "Now I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever plan to get us killed or worse expelled." (A/N yes I know that's technically from the film but I felt it fit in better with the tone of the story)
"Expelled is worse than killed Mya?" Sirius chuckled.
"Oh yes Padfoot didn't you know? Don't worry Mya I'm sure Remus agrees with you." teased James. Remus maturely and with dignity stuck out his tongue at his best friend.
"Oh hush up the both of you!" Lily smiled kindly at the girl, "I remember Hogwarts being the most important thing to me too especially being a muggle-born."
"I'm a muggle-born too. I just felt like I had this amazing ability and I shouldn't waste it or run risk of losing my right to use it."
"I suppose you have a point there," conceded James. "But that still is a little extreme."
Hermione laughed, "I get my priorities straight by the end of the year." Albus frowned ever so slightly. The only way for that to happen was for something to occur that would force them to grow up. He sighed; Tom has taken many lives and has taken away many more. He was pulled from his morose thoughts when Hermione began to speak again.
"Okay the next morning Malfoy was shocked to see Harry and Ron at breakfast but even more so when his new broomstick, a Nimbus 2000, came in the mail. He tried to tattle to Flitwick but he already knew. Harry even got a chance to infuriate Malfoy even more by saying that it was really thanks to him that he, Harry, got it in the first place."
"He must not have liked that much," laughed Sirius.
"But to be fair, it is true," said Remus.
"That is exactly what Harry was saying when I ran into them. We got into another minor row and I left them to admire the broom. Harry had a special practice that evening with Wood and performed really well then joined the team three evenings a week for regular practice. Again nothing of note happened for a few weeks until Halloween. We were in charms. I was paired with Ron and both of us were quite angry about it. We were trying to making objects levitate. Ron was doing it wrong and when I tried to correct him he challenged me to do it, which I did successfully."
"Well done Ms. Granger." McGonagall smiled. She was really looking forward to teaching this one.
"Thank you Professor. Unfortunately Ron wasn't as pleased. After class Ron complained loudly about me and said it was no wonder that I had no friends." It was a testament to how fond already the Marauders were of Hermione that they all growled quietly. Hermione was flattered but continued as if she hadn't noticed anything. "I overheard them and ended up crying the bathroom. The boys went to the Halloween feast and were eating when Professor Quirrell came running in screaming about a troll in the dungeons and promptly fainted."
"How did a troll get in?!" demanded James.
"You will find out soon enough James. But anyway while everyone was rushing to get out of the great hall, Harry realised that I didn't know about the troll because I was still in the bathroom. They went to tell me and saw Snape heading up to the third floor."
"What the hell? What could possibly be under that trapdoor that it warrants a Cerberus as guard and an ex-death eater going after it?" Sirius was confused and suspicious.
"I don't know," murmured Remus, "I think it's that package Hagrid got out of Gringotts but then that begs the question of what is so valuable that even Gringotts wasn't safe enough."
"What on earth is going on?" cried James with a desperate look at Lily, she looked back just as clueless as he was.
"I know it's frustrating but I will tell you everything in time. For now let's focus on where we are right now. So Harry and Ron ran towards the chamber when they saw the troll. They decided to lock it in but realised that they had locked it in the girl's bathroom."
"MYA!" cried Marauders. No one in the room wanted to imagine an eleven year old Hermione locked in a bathroom with a troll.
"So they came back and tried to get me out of there but I froze. I was terrified. So Harry jumped on the troll and shoved his wand in the troll's nose (cue shudders of disgust) then Ron attempted the Hover charm and succeeded. He levitated the troll's club over its head and then knocked the troll out by dropping the club. Enter the professors, I didn't want Harry and Ron to get into trouble so I lied to Professor McGonagall and said I went after the troll myself and they came to rescue me. That's how we became best friends."
"Some way to make friends," muttered McGonagall shaken and a little miffed she had been lied to. She chanced a glance at Albus who trying to figure out how this was possible. How a troll managed to get into the dungeons and why? Where was the proverbial crack in the wall? Lily and James looked like they were beyond words as they tried to digest the thought that their only son had taken on a troll. Remus was staring at Sirius who was white and shaking. All Sirius could think was that maybe, just maybe, it would have been different had HE been there for Harry. Hermione only alluded to his story so all he knew was that he was arrested which meant Azkaban. He wished that he could speak to his future self and demand what was so terrible that it made him forget his duty to his godson. He felt like a failure.
Hermione saw all the faces around the room, "Look I know it sounds terrible but remember why we are here. This can be changed." Everyone nodded slowly and Mya began again. "Well after that episode there was another lull in the year. Then one day Harry, Ron, and I were outside. I had conjured these flames in jar to keep warm but Snape was coming so we tried to hide it. But he figured we were up to something and confiscated the book Harry was reading, Quidditch through The Ages, said library books are not to be taken outside school."
"That's not a rule," cried McGonagall, Remus, and Lily in unison. James and Sirius shared a look and an eye roll while Dumbledore's beard quivered ever so slightly.
Mya smiled as the mood of the room lightened again, "Regardless, Harry wanted his book back so he went to the staff room to get it back. When he opened the door he found Snape and Filch were in there alone."
"EW MYA! Spare us the mental images." Sirius scrunched up his face at the onslaught of scenarios and willed his brain to turn off. James looked slightly green and hoped to god his son didn't suffer too much trauma from this truly terrifying experience. Remus on the other hand had to bite his fist in an attempt to stop the laughter threatening to come out.
Hermione laughed, she couldn't resist goading them a bit further. She dropped her voice to a bare whisper and with a glint of mischief in her eye said, "What if I said Snape had his robes open?"
"MYA!" roared the marauders including Remus this time. Lily laughed so hard to collapsed back though her chest still heaved occasionally with the stray giggle. The professors indulged in a brief smile before reining everyone in to continue with the story.
"My apologies Professors I couldn't help myself," Hermione smiled angelically at the three Marauders who all glowered at the girl responsible for their mental scarring. "But this is actually important -"
"At least we didn't suffer for nothing," muttered Sirius still trying to turn his brain off now more than ever.
"Yes Sirius you martyred a small shred of your already dwindling sanity for a greater purpose. Like I was saying, this is important because all this happened because Snape had injured his leg. From a comment he made Harry figured out that he was trying to get past the three-headed dog."
"So Snape is definitely after what the dog is guarding. But WHAT is the dog guarding?" Lily asked the room at large but no one had the answer save for Hermione who wasn't going to be telling.
"Harry didn't have much to dwell on the matter because his first Quidditch match was coming up." Everyone perked up even the Dumbledore who was really as much a Quidditch as McGonagall was. "Now I'm going to regret this but I do have a record of the commentary if you are interested in hearing it." Everyone quickly agreed and James conjured a bowl of popcorn to float among everyone. (note this won't be Lee's actual commentary but I think it will still be fun )
Hermione cleared her voice and read out in an announcer's tone, "Alright so it was the first Quidditch match of the year. Gryffindor versus Slytherin!" There was a smattering of light applause. "The Gryffindor line-up goes: Oliver Wood for Keeper, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, and Angelina Johnson for Chasers, Fred and George Weasley for Beaters, and of course the youngest Seeker in a century HARRY POTTER!" Here there were full blown cheers from Lily and Marauders. "The quaffle is immediately taken by Johnson who passes to Spinnet. Spinnet attempts to pass back to Johnson but it's intercepted but Slytherin captain Flint, he aims for the goal….." Hermione mentally counted three in her head, the excitement in the room was tangible. You could hear James muttering 'come on, come on'. "Saved by the Gryffindor Keeper!" 'YES!' "Bell with the quaffle, dives around Flint, but is hit in the back of the head with a bludger." Everyone groaned and Hermione grinned, no wonder Lee loved this job so much you could really get a feel for the emotional climate of the game. "Slytherin in possession, Chaser Adrian Pucey with the quaffle but is blocked by a bludger sent by one of the Weasley twins." Sirius bounced in his seat and let out a particularly loud whoop that silenced the room except for Harry who cocked his little head to the side and gurgled something along the lines of 'hayeh' causing everyone to crack up. Still laughing Hermione moved on, "Johnson back in possession, she dodges a bludger and heading toward Slytherin's end, the Keeper dives and MISSES! GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" Cheers went around the room again. "Harry dodges a bludger as Slytherin takes the quaffle," The room's tension built as the first mention Harry somehow signals his participation in the game. "Pucey with the quaffle, ducks two bludgers, the Weasley twins, and Bell, but dropped the quaffle as the Snitch passed his head. Harry and the Slytherin seeker dive together going after the Snitch. The chasers are immobile as they watch the first attempt. Harry is almost there when he is deliberately blocked by Flint." Hermione resisted the urge to cover her ears as the word 'FOUL' bounced off the walls of the living room. "Madam Hooch calls a foul and Gryffindor puts it away no problem and they begin play again. Harry dodges another bludger. Now I here I have to stop commentary because no one noticed it at first but Harry's broom began to buck." 'WHAT' was now the word bouncing off the walls.
"And no one noticed?" asked Remus incredulously.
"Well I'm guessing everyone's attention was on the game because Slytherin had just scored." Despite hearing that Harry's broomstick was malfunctioning, they still spared a grimace at the Slytherin goal.
"It became pretty obvious that something else was going on. The broom just kept bucking, and bucking until Harry was hanging on by one hand about to fall." Lily's eyes went round while James kept a hand on his son's foot just assure himself he was still there.
"Nothing but a powerful jinx could harm a broom though," said McGonagall. She felt in a way responsible for Harry being there in the first place even though it hadn't happened yet.
"I knew that, that's why I used Hagrid's binoculars to scan the crowd. I saw Snape looking straight at Harry, muttering, and not blinking."
"THAT GIT IS CURSING HARRY'S BROOM!" James roared. Lily flinched; she couldn't help but pray there was an alternate explanation to all of this.
"That's why I ran off to try and stop him. I pelted through the stands, even knocking Professor Quirrell in the head, to try and get to him. I got Snape and lit his robes on fire."
Remus smirked, "That's one way of distracting him."
Sirius nodded his approval, "Good one Mya!"
"He deserved it," muttered James tersely, still too upset to be amused at anything.
"Well, after I was done, Harry was able to get back on and landed." There was relieved sigh at Harry being back on firm ground. "For a moment it looked like he was going to be sick but instead he coughed up something rather strange."
"What was it?" asked Remus although Sirius looked like he would rather not know.
Hermione giggled, "It was the Snitch! It was still a legal catch so -" she changed back into her announcer's voice, "GRYFFINDOR WINS!" There was cheering from every person in the room. Lily stood and swung Harry around in her arms while the marauders hooted and started chanting, "potter, potter, potter". Hermione got up too and stretched, "I think we should take a break here." Everyone agreed.
A/N: Ok I really need your opinions – love it or hate it doesn't matter. Do you want to hear more about baby Harry? Like I said this is not what I had originally planned on doing so I really need to know if this is okay or should I make changes. R&R PLZ