After facing the most vile and equally dangerous man when they were just seventeen in the Easter holidays, James and Sirius looked and acted like they couldn't be and weren't afraid of anything. This was not the case,. The biggest thing James and Sirius –the biological brothers that weren't; related in the slightest- feared was change. They loved things how they were now, they were both going out with someone they liked very much, they had great friends, they didn't even have to worry about You-Know-Who here since Hogwarts was the safest place on the planet. They were even in the Order of the Phoenix.
So, naturally, they began to verge onto paranoia as their seventh year progressed at half the rate their previous years at Hogwarts had dragged out for.
The briefly considered failing the NEWTs just to remain at Hogwarts for another year.
By the time there was only one week left to the long awaited exams, James and Sirius were both on the brink of a nervous breakdown.
This caused them to be disruptive. A lot more disruptive than they were usually at this time of year.
"MR POTTER!" Sirius though that sometimes Professor McGonagall's screeches could be heard from the Hogsmeade train station. Not that Sirius had ever tried, no, that wouldn't be in his character at all to do that. "I've been losing sleep at the thought and fear of my seventh years not being prepared for their upcoming exams. This is entirely your fault, setting that exploding parchment in on the OWL Charms exam, what were you thinking? I'm making my whole house sit here for just two hours so they'll be able to concentrate and study without you and Mr Black acting like complete twats!"
Sirius and James were on the edge of the seats. Both their mouths were ajar in shock from hearing Professor Minerva McGonagall say "twat". They were pretty sure up until that point that she didn't even know what a twat was.
She was out of breath; she clutched to the edge of her desk, and then continued. "In all my years of teaching, I've only had one pupil that's had more detention that you two have had separately."
Sirius changed his slouched position to a bolted up one, his back was pressed firmly into the chair. He opened his mouth to speak, then from under the table Remus kicked him firmly in the shin and gave him a look that almost spoke "If you value your life, do not make a sound."
Wincing in pain, Sirius began to talk. "How many detentions did the other bloke have?"
White in the face, McGonagall replied in an unusually serene voice "One hundred and seven."
"SIRIUS!"
"JAMES!"
"We have one hundred detentions each!" Sirius' face hadn't looked this joyful all year. Finally some hope had been injected back into his mundane and meaningless existence.
"I know, Padfoot!" James' face mirrored his best friend's.
"Hey, McGonagall!" Sirius chortled from his seat at the back of the classroom. "Surely we'd get a detention for disrupting the class as we are currently disrupting this class?"
"Absolutely not," McGonagall snapped.
"But why?" James whined.
"Because by not giving you two any detentions is perhaps the best punishment for you both that's anyone has ever thought of in all the years of teaching you. Detention shouldn't be as highly anticipated as you believe it is. It's meant to be a punishment. But, however, not allowing you to hold the record of most detentions had seems to be a better way to stop you being so reckless."
James and Sirius shot each other a look, they could just tick other teachers off. It's not hard to do considering that several probably had hired assassins for their demise.
"And so you don't try anything else stupid, I'm writing to every other member of staff to alert them not to give you any detentions ever again."
And that is why James and Sirius cringe when anyone –even to this day- mentions the number of detentions they had. They and every other seventh year Gryffindor knew that they were only the second best at earning detentions.
Only a hundred detentions, what a disgrace.
Yay! I finally wrote this! It only took about three years... I haven't been up to writing anything for a while, but I was up to it this morning and ta da!