"Oi, Bell!"
"Don`t let him intimidate you, his ego`s bigger than Hagrid." Mattie whispered as the trio of testosterone closed in.
Any reasonably average person, Gryffindor or not, would have been at least the slightest bit timorous in the face of James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, not to mention the cloud of arrogance they trailed in their wake. After all, they were Quiddich stars; pranking kings; dueling deities; numbers two, one, and four respectively on the Hogwarts Hottest Hunks list printed on the wall of the second floor girl`s bathroom; and Marauders to boot. Even Harry was intimidated by the ghosts of the past that stood before him, but as he turned to face the oncoming storm, he noticed Mattie didn`t even have the slightest tremor as stood her ground, arms crossed, one eyebrow slightly elevated.
"Nice hostility, Potter. Would you mind toning it down a notch for the new guy, though? My cousin`s not used to your diva mood swings yet."
If anything, Harry had been expecting this to rile James Potter up even more, but something about the tone of Mattie`s voice seemed to somewhat sedate the mad rage.
"Practice is rescheduled to tomorrow, and we`ll discuss the new team situation then. Oh, and Mel`s been looking for you, something about a shipment of time-sensitive equipment arriving? Anyway, more secrets, I see."
Mattie`s eyes lit up. "Yes! Oh, this week`s about to get loads better."
"Really? Here I was thinking everything before the Extravaganza was going to be a drag."
Sirius and Peter had slipped into place besides James, flanking him on either side, with their classic Marauder posture that screamed the trio was up to no good. Out of all of them, Peter looked the most guiltless, with his fair hair and almost child-like innocence, but Harry had to mentally restrain himself from punching the other boy in the face and declaring the truth yet to pass.
"By the way, I will be needing that uniform back sometime in the next week, so don't get too comfortable in there." Remarked Sirius, causing Harry to flush, just remembering he was still walking around wearing his godfather`s Quiddich robes.
"Have you two been properly introduced yet?" Mattie asked. "Harry, this is Peter, champion Gobstones player four years running ….you`ve met James...Oh, and Sirius Black, world class prankster and thief of many hearts, but I`m sure you know all about that."
So much for not subtly telling the world he was from the future. Harry suppressed a groan.
"…and guys, this is Harry, my cousin." As she continued, her voice dropped to a conspiratory hush, "His parents are on the run from You-Know-Who, so he`s staying at Hogwarts for a while. I was hoping he could stay in your dorm for the time being, since Remus is with his mum, just until Dumbledore can work something else out."
Harry could tell the boys were having a hard time deciding whether or not to completely push away that predetermined contempt with which they had been regarding him since the Hospital Wing. They were Gryffindors, though, and it was clear that hero complex he knew well was tugging inside of them, softening the aversion to the stray. James was difficult to read, a mask of undecided stubbornness clouding him as he studied his new housemate. To his left, Sirius fiddled nonchalant with a knife he`d drawn from his pocket, the very one Harry had accidentally ruined in the Department of Mysteries (Again, the plaguing weight of that night would not leave, no matter how close to being saved Sirius was). It was clear he was leaving the decision of what to think of Harry up to James, obviously not caring enough either way to waste his thoughts on the matter. On the other side, Peter was similarly waiting, adept more expectantly, for a conclusion on how to approach this introduction.
Was there a seed of evil in him yet? When did Pettigrew first get that deceitful inkling, the wisp of fading loyalty? Harry doubted it had all been the pressure of the war.
"He`s been sorted?" James asked, finally.
Nodding, Harry briefly met his father`s eyes, much different than the first time on the pitch, or even in the Hospital Wing. "Gryffindor."
Not looking up from his knife, Sirius added idly, "Where dwell the brash of heart."
Mattie cocked an eyebrow, while James and Peter chose to ignore him, sharing a look (Peter tilting his head slightly, James giving a nod in return) before turning back to the common room.
"Well, I suppose we`d better start on the grand tour, then."
The way mischief crept at the corner of their grins made Harry glad this was not his first time in the Gryffindor Tower.
"I`ll meet you up there." Mattie said in a hush as the Marauders ducked back into the common room. "Don`t worry. I`m just going to get your other clothes so you don't have to keep tromping around in Black`s robes, we can talk more about the situation later. In the meantime, please try not to further infuriate them."
Before Harry could reply, a voice from behind him called, "Come along, Homeless Harry."
"Er, okay..."
"We can`t call him that." Chided Sirius. "That`s like if we called you Petrified Peter, or me Stray Sirius. If the nickname`s going to be an alliteration, you`ve got to make it a good one, like Bell Boy."
"Perfect Potter thinks 'Servant Sirius' would be a better name anyway."
"Superb Sirius thinks Pompous Potter should keep his mouth shut before he wakes up and finds all that hair of his as gone as Wormtail`s chances with that Keats bird."
"I do so have a shot!"
"Mate, she saw you the day you were running around using Moony`s trousers for a cape after the Hampshire Bet. There`s no coming back from that."
The Gryffindor Tower was very much like the one Harry had left behind in 1996, if only without Weasleys, Educational Decrees, and the hush of war. Life was pouring out of everything, as if everyone, from the pair playing Wizard Chess, to the girls bewitching their notes into airplanes and casting them into the fire, to the boisterous gaggle on the couches, was a part of the heartbeat. Maybe, Harry realized with a start, they weren`t the ghosts; he was.
"Personally, I think Wide Eyes is more fitting." James commented, startling Harry back to Earth.
"That`s Elise Donahue." Peter reminded him.
"Oh, right. Super Seeker?"
"Eh, maybe, but that`s another alliteration, and I think Moony would agree, we can do better than that."
One of the girls from the couch stood up, upon seeing Harry, and gasped. "So you are real."
Net to her, a grinning boy poked the back of her leg. "I`ll take those licorice wands now."
"This is Harry, Mattie`s cousin." Peter offered.
"Ugh, her cousin!" The girl collapsed back down next to her friends in frustration. "When nobody knew who he was, I was so sure Mattie`d just confundused a Hufflepuff or something to get herself out of being late for the tryouts."
"Maybe next time, Lin." The boy smiled, kissing her on the cheek.
Harry sensed the wave of vague annoyance roll off of James, but could not fully decipher the telepathically conversive glance that was exchanged, originating from a barely detectable twitch in Sirius` eyebrows and ending with the faintest upturn at the corner of James` poker face. Not breaking stride, the three boys barreled on, unwavering even upon abruptly turning the stampede up a flight of stairs and into what had previously been a relatively peaceful dormitory room.
"Oi, Cranky Franky, would this, by any chance, be a Saturday?"
It appeared that smashing in was the usual Marauder mode of entering, because from his unperturbed perch on the bed closest to the door, Frank Longbottom, aka Nevilleish Boy From The Hospital Wing, didn`t even miss a beat before replying to Sirius, "Sunday. You lit Snape on fire Saturday, remember?"
In a wizarding school locks were basically obsolete, but from the tired expression on Frank`s face, Harry could tell he could use one, if only to deter the next entrance by the amount of seconds it takes to say alohomora.
"Ah, yes, it`s all coming back now. Hmm… Newbie, do you know what we do on Sundays?"
The smirking Marauders were intimidating, but no more than snide Snape had been to Harry for all his years of Potions. Nagging at the back of his mind was the thought that they should be getting to Remus soon, but from the way his godfather was looking at him, Harry couldn`t help but get whisked along in whatever brewing madness this Sunday ritual was.
"Not homework, right?"
"True, but not exactly what I had in mind. Tell me, how much has Mattie told you of our good friends in dear old Slytherin?"
Looking to Frank to try and see if this was really a rabbit hole he wanted to delve down, Harry was nervous to find that the boy had turned back to his book, either in apathetic disinterest or just wisely choosing not to engage in this set of affairs.
Had Harry not been caught up in the euphoric rebellion one can get drunk on from just being around the Marauders, and perhaps if Mattie had not informed him of his father`s current general distaste for him because of Lily`s apparent infatuation, he might not have felt like he had something to prove to this trifecta of trouble. If the way Sirius was grinning at James now had not reminded Harry so much of the way his godfather used to look at him back at 12 Grimmauld Place, and had the absence of a Sirius in the current 1996 not make Harry want to have that grin directed at him once more, to earn the approval of both his godfather and father as he saved them from certain death, Harry might have sensed something about this situation was off. However, if Harry had been in the habit of stopping and thinking things through before doing them, he wouldn`t have been in this situation to start with.
"Plenty. Why?"
They could have at least have given him something to change into besides Sirius` Quiddich robes. Having the Marauder's Map or Invisibility Cloak wouldn`t have hurt either, but his were back in 1996, and technically he wasn`t supposed to know about the 1976 ones. So instead, Harry was holding onto the blind hope that Filch was not about to pop out from behind any sudden corners or suits of armor, and that cat burglary would be more quiet than it sounded (and less painful).
"…definitely doped up on some sort of potion, I can tell you that. Probably got it off the Hufflepuffs, too. Doris could have never landed it otherwise."
Fighting the urge to hide, Harry kept his head down as the pair of Slytherins passed. Luckily, their eyes skimmed right over him, as if he was part of the wall.
"I dunno, she`s been awfully determined recently, but I can hardly see her dealing with any Hufflepuffs, even just to get her hands on some potions."
The air sneer from the second girl could have put Pansy Parkinson to shame. "Don`t be so naive. Everyone`s been doing it and they`ve been working brilliantly, who cares if you have to talk to a couple of half-wit half-bloods to get some."
Tightening the grip on his wand, Harry might have snapped at the Umbridge-esce comment had a minute Mrs. Norris not slipped out of one of the empty classrooms just then.
After a quick check to make sure the dreadful duo was now turning up a flight of stairs, Harry hurried to catch up with his target. Looking at the mangy kitten, Harry almost felt bad for what he had been sent to do.
"Fttttttt!"
Almost.
"Stupefy." Harry muttered. Mrs. Norris froze, her malevolent little eyes probably committing his face to memory, which would probably explain why it had always seemed she had it out for Harry during all his years at Hogwarts. Trying not to think about all the trouble he was causing his past self, he picked up the kitten and turned towards the Slytherin common room.
Turning a furious Mrs. Norris (and eventually Filch as well, when he found out where his cat was) loose in the Slytherin common room didn`t seem like Sirius` best plan, but Harry certainly wasn`t about to argue with him, especially if this would get him on good terms with the Marauders.
Having been to the Slytherin common rooms once before, in his second year, it shouldn`t have taken him nearly as long a journey as it did down to the dungeons. However, Harry hadn`t exactly been caring a stunned cat while wearing the Gryffindor robes of the most infamously disowned pureblood and troublemaker in the school. Every little creak and clatter made him dive behind the nearest tapestry, but the closer to his destination Harry drew, the less corridor embellishments there were to take cover behind.
"Psst."
"Stupefy." Harry whispered, wondering how long exactly spells could have hold over animals. If a kitten could unfreeze after just a few minutes then-
Something clamped down lightly on Harry`s shoulder.
Harry whirled, wand out. "Stu…"
"Shhh!" hissed the floating head of James Potter. Pushing aside a statue of a cyclops, James shoved Harry with invisible hands into the revealed passageway, peering down the hall either way before hurriedly following.
"Da-James? What are you doing?"
"Shhh….Lumos." James said, shaking his head in what appeared to be disbelief in himself as he led the way down the passage. "Well, by the looks of it, just saving another ungrateful arse from the wrath of Sirius Black. Cheers!"
The wrath of Sirius? Sirius was….? No, Sirius would never try to hurt Harry. Surely, James was just confused about which side Harry was on. Adjusting his grip on Mrs. Norris, Harry put an arm out to stop his dad. "No, wait, Sirius sent me here to prank some Slytherins."
Rolling his eyes, James barreled on, tugging harry along with him. "Sirius sent you to go get hazed and beat up by some Slytherins, probably also caught by Filch. Now come on, we have to get that cat back before ol' Filchy starts to worry."
The wand-lit procession that traveled down the passage way the evening of the full moon was certainly not one Hogwarts had ever seen the likes of before. In the lead, one noble boy who knew he had saved another enemy, and was thoroughly annoyed by that fact. Behind him was a son who knew he was doing an iffy job of saving three of the people who mattered to him the most, and was deeply concerned by this. Last, and beginning to squirm in the arms of the unfortunate son, was a tiny kitten who contained more annoyance, fury, and concern that both of the others combined.
"Ouch. Um, James?" The stony boy did not falter. "Er, how much farther is it to wherever we`re headed, because Mrs. Norris isn`t really liking being carried, and I don`t want to stun her again if we`re…"
Harry crashed into James` back, sending them tumbling into the wall at the end of the passage that James had apparently stopped to listen to.
"Shhh!"
On the other side of the stone, a girl laughed. "Oh Colin. That`s utterly brilliant, as usual. How did you find a raven on such short notice?"
"I have my ways."
James looked like he`d just accidentally ingested one of Sirius` socks. Turning to Harry, he muttered darkly, "Newman."
"Newman?" Apparently, this Newman must be a well-known phenomenon in Hogwartizan culture that the older Remus and Sirius must have neglected to remember, or perhaps purposely blocked out. Harry hoped this was enough to excuse the fact that Mattie wouldn`t have mentioned it to a cousin.
"He`s my sworn enemy."
"I thought Snape was your sworn enemy…?"
"No, no he`s my arch nemesis. Didn`t Mattie teach you anything?" Scooping a belligerent Mrs. Norris out of Harry`s arms, James drew his invisibility cloak around him and pressed an ear to the wall. "Colin Newman and his stuck-up Ravenclaw cronies have been constantly trying to one-up me since first year. Stay back."
Before there was any time for more questions, James tapped one of the bricks and, as soon as the first inklings of light began to appear in the passage, ducked his invisible self –with a very visible Mrs. Norris- out into the hall. The kitten appeared to soar through the air, captivating the attention of Harry, a boy who could only be the infamous Colin Newman, and the tall dark-skinned Ravenclaw next to him. It was an enchanting sight, claws protracting, grasping for anything but air, right up until the moment that Mrs. Norris sunk them straight into Colin Newman`s face.
"Aaargh-"
An invisible bulldozer slammed Harry back into the shadows, and through the closing wall, he could still make out the struggling Ravenclaws and the bloodthirsty cat, both trying to preserve their own honor.
"Gogogogogo…!"
"POTTER!"
"Faster! No no not that way!…Ooph, follow me!"
Fumbling in the tunnel, Harry heeded his father`s words like they came from Dumbledore himself. The two boys sprinted as fast as wizardly possible, weaving into a much different path than they had come, each turn and choice of tunnels taken more impulsive than the last. After what seemed like thirty years, the boys collapsed, panting in an almost ragged unison.
When Harry managed to get his heart rate under control, he breathed, "Why did you save me?"
"From Sirius` hazing thing? Those snakes would have eaten you alive, probably too blockheaded to realize you weren't me." Stuffing the cloak into his pocket, he added, "This is becoming a bit of a habit of mine, actually, saving the pathetic victims of Black`s wrath."
"I…"
'I know' almost slipped out of Harry`s mouth, but he guessed that what had happened with Snape was probably not common knowledge, since even Frank seemed to be under the illusion Remus was at his mum`s.
"…I….I saved you first."
"That`s right. We`re even, then."
"Well, technically I would have never been in this mess if you, Peter, and Sirius hadn`t set me up in the first place."
"Yeah, yeah, okay Mr. Collateral Damage, I guess you`re right."
"Mr. Collateral Damage?"
"Would you rather I called you Bell Boy?"
Harry smiled, shaking his head even though he knew his dad couldn`t see. "Whatever."
It occurred to Harry that here, adrenaline running, mutual Gryffindor brotherhood and Hero Complex showing, was a perfect place to warn James about the future. The truth pulsed inside him with every heartbeat, pounding to get out. Peter`s a traitor, Peter`s a traitor, save Lily, save Sirius….No, it wasn`t time, not yet. If Mattie was right, Harry still had to fix a bit of the past before he could ensure the safety of the future. The obvious loose end was there, dangling between them.
"To be clear, she`s all yours"
Next to him, James tensed. "What?"
"Lily. She`s yours."
"As Evans has informed me many times over in the past six years, people don`t have the ability to claim ownership over other people, and 'slavery is illegal, not to mention the notion is highly demeaning that one would think that they could get a girl to become theirs, like a little pet, just they called dips'. That aside, what makes you want to give her up, anyway? Is something wrong with her?"
Fantastic, the hole Harry dug himself had just got infinitely larger. "No, ah… no… See, from all I`ve heard through my cousin… Lily`s great, but she`s like a sister, you know? I know you like her, and she likes you too, despite the fact that she`d never tell you that and is probably just projecting it to me instead or something…" Struggling to remember what else Mattie had said, Harry ended up blurting out, "…but one day this will all just be a funny story to tell to your kids."
"Huh."
In the pregnant pause, Harry began to worry if James had seen right through him. Had he rambled too much, or said something offensive?
Finally, when James spoke, Harry could hear the victorious grin in his voice. "You really think she and I are going to have kids one day?"
"I`d bet my life on it." Harry replied, hoping he didn`t have to and that Lily did indeed secretly like James back.
"You really are like your cousin. Well, her and Sirius, but he only really starts to bet on crazy odds like that when he`s pissed. Are you any good at planning, though? It would be good to have a master schemer on our side, just in case we needed to put her in her place."
"I don`t know, how good is she? I`m usually not on her bad side."
"Well, let`s just say that if it`s not us causing chaos, it`s almost always her. Mattie`s the brains of the plans, thinks `em up, and Mel`s brave, or maybe just crazy and stubborn enough, to see it through. Mary`s an ace in the hole, always innocent enough to keep them from arousing suspicion, Alice charms people into cooperating with them, and Lily….." James sheepishly jolted himself out of reverie, "…Well, I could go on all day about her, but you don`t want to hear that, probably."
"Thanks. Does this mean you`re going to stop considering me as just another 'ungrateful arse'?"
"Well, I don`t think you ever did say thank you for being rescued from certain Slytherinification, but you did help me claw up Newman`s face… so I supposed you`re not too bad."
Was it friendship? Tough to tell, but in the very least, this was an adequate start. The distant but sharp sound of a dog barking mentally pulled the Potters out of the in-between space they had been physical and hypothetically hiding in. James was the first to stand, and began to lead Harry back the direction they came, already beginning to feel the adrenaline for the night to come eclipse that of the wild adventure that was coming to a close.
"Sorry about how much of a prat I was earlier, after you saved me."
"You weren't…" As James ushered Harry through a wall and under a tapestry, he trailed off, losing the conversation in an attempt to identify where exactly they had come out. The windows perfectly framed a sunset-lit silhouette of Hagrid`s hut and the pumpkin patch below, which meant they were somewhere beneath the astronomy tower, perhaps the fourth floor.
"…Nah, I was. I suppose you`ve guessed why, of course, but that doesn`t excuse the fact that it was still bloody rude for someone who`d just been spared a bludger to the neck."
"I`d be fine calling it even if you could talk me up to Sirius so he doesn't feel the need to set me up for another hazing backfire of a prank."
James smiled knowingly, as if a slideshow with highlights of every joke the Marauders had ever played on Frank, including all the times they`d hung him out the window, was flashing before his eyes in rapid succession. "I can talk with him, but keep in mind that Sirius Black is not a tame beast. Much of what goes on in that dark and corrupted mind is one of the great uncrackable mysteries of our time, and not even experts such as Remus Lupin have been able to even scratch the surface of-"
"So you`ll tell him to stop trying to scare me off?"
"Yeah, sure, fine. Anyway, I`ve got some business to take care of, but you can find your way back to the tower, right?"
Harry nodded, once again thanking Merlin for whatever spell Mattie had used on his head that had made the castle stop spinning enough to become recognizable again. He had started to turn away when James, already halfway down the hall, called after him, "Oi, and Finnigan, don`t be late for practice tomorrow! I won`t have Gryffindor`s new seeker following in his cousin`s tardy footsteps."
"Whatever you say, coach." Harry replied, internally glowing as they parted ways. He`d made the team! So what if he hopefully would be finding a way to save the world and get back to 1996 before he got the chance to play in a game, James Potter had chosen him! If only he had been able to tell his dad his real name, and it would not feel so much like Seamus had wormed his way into that father-son moment. For a person who hadn`t been born yet, Seamus was able to create an astonishing amount of trouble….although Harry himself really couldn`t talk, since he himself seemed to have become head of the premature trouble department.
Right before he got to the Gryffindor Tower, Harry stopped to look out over the castle grounds, taking in the same view he had always known, even before he had even technically seen them for the first time. A full moon hung over the Shrieking Shack, and inside, Harry knew a young werewolf was in the capable, if unruly, hands of his three best friends. Best friends who Harry would soon ensure the safety of for many moons to come.
Had Harry been less focused on the problems to come and more on that of the time he was in, it might have taken him less than seven attempts at getting into the common room to realize he did not in fact remember the password for 1976.
A/N: A quick note... the character of Colin Newman belongs to the ever fabulous BlueViolets87. By the way, if you haven`t already, I`d highly recommend reading her fast-paced work of literary brilliance that Colin is from, Winter Wars. It`s got Marauders, prank wars, snowball fights, hot tubs...basically everything and more that one could wish for in a story.
Thank you to all of the extremely kind reviewers, guest and otherwise. You people are like sunshine in the winter (coincidentally the title of another fantastic BlueViolets87 story -sorry, I know the plugs are a bit excessive, but she truly is worth the hype, I promise)! I might not be able to update as frequently as I would like over the next few weeks, but hopefully the length of this chapter will make up for that slight absence.