Chapter 6 - As The Knights Draw In

As autumn progressed and the weather outside grew colder, little clumps of leaves began to appear under the trees in the Hogwarts grounds. James and Peter particularly delighted in this, with James orchestrating many a leaf fight on their way to and from any outdoor lessons.

"I suppose now you're nearly twelve you think you're too mature to play with us?" James teased his best friend Sirius as he stuffed a handful of leaves down the back of Peter's robes.

"That's right." Sirius said, grinning as Peter squealed and ran around in circles, desperately pulling leaves out from the back of his shirt. "As of 3rd November I'm practically an adult."

"What have you asked for?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what have you asked for for your birthday?" James asked, wondering why this wasn't obvious.

"Oh." Sirius said and his grin faltered a little. "Nothing."

"Nothing?!" James yelped, staring at him, all thoughts of the leaf fight forgotten. "But it's your birthday! I mean, they'll still have to send you something won't they?"

"I doubt it to be honest." Sirius said, not looking at him. "They're not best pleased with me right at this minute." He scratched his nose a little awkwardly and James wondered what kind of parents they could possibly be to not even send their son a present on his birthday. Surely it didn't matter that much to them what house he was in?

But before he could ask any of this, Peter had reached him. Grinning broadly, he proceeded to attack James with his armful of leaves, rubbing them into his messy (now messier) hair and stuffing them down his robes. James let out a loud war cry and jumped on the shorter boy, pushing him to the ground where the pair of them laughed and wrestled. Remus and Sirius, who had looked at one another, thrown their bags over their shoulders and walked off to herbology without them, clearly did not understand fun in the same way James and Peter did.

Sirius, it turned out, had been quite right. His parents did ignore his birthday. He said it didn't bother him and that the Halloween feast had been more than enough of a celebration, but James still caught him glowering darkly when he thought no one was looking.

Fortunately, James and the others had planned ahead. They'd been down to the kitchens again and stolen a platter of food, including a number of delicious looking cakes, one of which Peter had stuck a candle in ("well, it is his birthday!"). It seemed to have done the trick in cheering Sirius up and halfway through the midnight feast he suggested they all go off on another excursion round the castle.

"We need a map for all this." Remus told the others as they stumbled upon yet another shortcut. "It would save us quite a bit of time between lessons to know where these are."

"Good idea." James agreed. "That way our legacy can live on too." He quite liked the sound of that.

They were having such a good time that they forgot to keep their voices down and on the third-floor corridor attracted, again, the attention of that old fun-killer, Argus Filch.

He smiled when he saw them, an unpleasant smile that showed his hideous, rotting teeth. James considered for a moment trying to run for it again but then thought better of it. He knew McGonagall would be furious they'd been caught out of bounds again but perhaps she'd go easier on them if she heard they'd gone quietly with Filch.

No chance. She was so furious when she opened the door and saw who it was that she actually slammed her fist down on her desk.

"You two, again?!" She shouted. "And I see you've dragged Pettigrew and Lupin along with you this time too. Well come on in, then. Let's get this over with."

Thanking Filch, she ushered them over the threshold where she proceeded to lecture them for what seemed to James like hours (though the minute hand on the clock above her desk had only moved a few places). When she'd finally shouted herself to silence, she considered them over the top of her glasses and James crossed his hands behind his back, knowing their fate was about to be decided.

"Well, that's it." McGonagall said resolutely, looking from James to Sirius. "As detentions seem to be having absolutely no effect on you whatsoever, I'll just have to write to your parents."

"What?!" Both boys yelped at the same time.

Sirius was staring at her as though she'd just sentenced them both to execution. "Professor, you can't do that." He said a little shakily. James had to admit he wasn't delighted by the prospect either.

"I assure you Black I can, and I will. First thing tomorrow. Not yours, Pettigrew and Lupin. As this is your first offence I'll let you off with a warning this time. But I advise you not to make a habit of it." She turned back to James and Sirius, the latter of who was still staring at her in horror. "I'm glad to see something's finally got through to you." She said, noting his expression. "Maybe this will be the last we have to see of each other." And she opened her office door, sniffed and pointed them out.

James was so angry with Professor McGonagall he glowered every time he saw her the next day. It obviously wasn't the last they would see of each other since they saw her three times a week in transfiguration so her parting words were stupid and the punishment ridiculously unfair. He wasn't so worried for his own parents' reaction but for Sirius'. His parents were clearly beasts (who ignores their own son's birthday?!) and Sirius had been distracted and anxious ever since McGonagall had told them what she was going to do.

The next morning at breakfast he looked a little like he was going to be sick.

"Don't worry, it'll be OK." James told him, though he wasn't sure if this was true and wished he could say something a bit more helpful.

The post owls finally arrived and James opened the letter his parents had sent him. He couldn't help smiling a little as he read it: James, Sounds like you're having quite a good time of it at Hogwarts! Do try not to send Professor McGonagall to an early retirement if you can. House still feels quiet without you but can't wait to see you at Christmas! Lots of love, Mum and Dad x

He knew they'd forgive him.

"Oh bloody hell." He heard Sirius say and looked up to see a black screech owl upset his goblet of pumpkin juice and drop a scarlet envelope in front of him before taking off again.

Sirius picked up the soggy envelope which had started to smoke at the edges and was looking at it as though it were about to explode (which in all likelihood, it probably was).

"Oh just get it over with." James told him bracingly, recognising the letter as a howler and feeling angry on his friend's behalf that his parents could ignore his birthday but clearly not the letter from McGonagall. "How bad can it be?"

They all found out.

James clapped his hands over his ears as Sirius opened the envelope and a woman's voice came screaming across the great hall. She was bellowing so loudly that many students upset their goblets or dropped their knives and forks as they spun around in shock to see where the sound was coming from.

The woman (presumably Sirius' mother) sounded quite mad and her rage was relentless. She screamed insult after insult at him, calling him a 'blood traitor', a 'disgrace to the noble house of Black', a 'vile perversion of my ancestry' and more and more until James was sure his friend would crack. But Sirius didn't crack. He continued to stare at the envelope as if this sort of thing was a perfectly normal everyday occurrence. But that couldn't possibly be right... When the woman screeched her last threat to make him rue the very day he was born (so she did remember it then...), the letter crumbled into ash and there was a ringing silence throughout the hall.

Then the Slytherin table cheered and applauded and the spell was broken.

Sirius turned to the others and grinned (if a little awkwardly). "Well, now you've all met my mother." He said and then went back to breakfast as though absolutely nothing had happened, if perhaps spearing his sausages with a bit more force than was strictly necessary. James stared at him. Being screamed at like that surely couldn't be normal for him. But he had no idea what else to say so he followed Sirius' lead and continued with his breakfast too and they said no more about it.

The Slytherins, it seemed, could not forget the howler quite so easily. They had clearly found the whole thing extremely amusing and it had inspired a great number of jokes among them in the weeks that followed.

"It's not fair." James said for the hundredth time, casting the bat bogey hex at Mulciber, who had just asked Sirius if he was planning to infect any more family trees with his perverted ways. "I was out of bounds just as much as you were. It's a stupid thing for McGonagall to have done."

Furthermore, the punishment seemed to be having the complete opposite effect to what McGonagall had intended in the first place. Though they did not break curfew again, Sirius was now getting into so many fights with the Slytherins he was being reported to her office more and more.

The latest summons to see her involved Severus Snape and, unfortunately, James himself.

They had passed the Slytherin boy on their way to the great hall for dinner. James and Sirius had both narrowed their eyes at him and kept walking, not feeling in any mood to pick a fight with him at this minute, until James heard Snape mutter 'blood traitor Black' at Sirius' retreating back.

Furious at the boy's cowardice and having heard just about enough of the stupid nickname the Slytherins had coined for his friend, James spun around. "Say that again, Snivellus." He said, but Snape was too quick for him. Appearing to sense a threat, he had plunged his hand into his robes, withdrawn his wand and shouted "impedimenta!"

It had been a good spell. James didn't know how Snape had learned it. It hit him squarely in the chest and he was knocked backwards off his feet. He scrambled upright, drawing out his own wand too (though having no idea what to try except 'wingardium leviosa' which was all they'd learned so far and which surely wouldn't work on a human), but it turned out he didn't need to do anything.

Sirius had already reached Snape. All thought of magic apparently forgotten, he drew back his fist and punched the Slytherin boy hard on the nose. Snape let out a strangled cry and tried to fight back but Sirius caught him in a headlock and dragged him, swearing and struggling, over to James.

"Well, what shall we do with him?" He asked James, panting a little as he fought to maintain his grip on the Slytherin boy.

"Well he's clearly a menace to society." James said, eyeing Snape coldly. "I say we lock him up."

"Good idea." Sirius said, scanning the empty entrance hall with his eyes. Then he grinned. "I know just the place."

James and Sirius dragged the protesting Slytherin over to the broom cupboard, stuffed him inside then wrestled his wand off him so he couldn't magic himself out. They cast 'alohamora' on the door, locking him inside and then turned and grinned at one another. "Hope they don't find the git 'til morning." Sirius said, and, laughing, they headed back to Gryffindor tower.

Unfortunately for them, Snape was found, though not until ten thirty, when his dorm mates finally decided they should probably report him missing. Of course he'd snitched and told Professor Slughorn exactly what had happened and exactly who was responsible.

Professor McGonagall shouted at them until James' ears were ringing almost as much as they had been after Sirius' mum's howler. She told them bullying would not be tolerated at Hogwarts and that she was giving them a week's detentions and writing to their parents again.

Sirius had tried to laugh the whole thing off, imitating McGonagall's Scottish accent as she'd scolded them and finding great humour in the idea of Snape being trapped in a closet for three hours ("bet he pissed himself"), but he certainly wasn't laughing when he got his parents' response owl the next morning at breakfast. In fact, he looked a little like he was about to be sick again, causing James to wonder what on earth could his friend could have read to cause him so much anxiety.

James didn't know what to say. His own letter from his parents had been as he'd expected. Though they hadn't seemed too bothered the last time McGonagall wrote home, this time they didn't seem quite so impressed, telling him they'd be having 'serious words' when he came home. He knew he didn't need to worry too much though. His parents would forgive James anything.

Whatever had been written did seem to have made some improvement on Sirius' behaviour over the next few weeks however. For the first time ever the house points he won for good schoolwork were outweighing those he lost for messing around and as Christmas approached he started to refuse to accompany James on his excursions, even if he was doing something as innocent as going to the kitchens. James decided not to push it. He didn't know what his friend's parents were like and if he wanted to keep his nose clean in the run up for Christmas he wasn't going to stop him. Instead he brought him up stolen goods from the kitchens or kept him distracted with games of gobstones or exploding snap.

James, for his part, couldn't wait to go home for the Christmas holidays. The festive period at Potter Manor was always spectacular. His mother and their house elf, Ethel, decorated the house to perfection and there was always something delicious to eat. James' parents had always spoiled him rotten, buying him just about everything his heart desired and, despite their last cross letter, he knew this year would be no different.

It had to be said though Christmas at Hogwarts was pretty good too. Hagrid had decorated the great hall with six enormous Christmas trees and the suits of armour around the hallways had all been adorned with Santa hats. Students were forced to avoid certain areas of the castle where some moon-eyed teacher had hung great branches of mistletoe and the atmosphere in the common became one of general merriment as the end of term finally arrived.

"God rest ye merry Hippogriffs"

"Let nothing you dismay"

"Remember Merlin gave us"

"Great magic on this day"

"To save us all from Grindelwald"

"When he was gone astray"

"O tidings of comfort and joy…"

"Comfort and joy"

"O tidings of comfort and joy…"

There was a round of applause from the watching students and James and Sirius grinned and bowed. They'd been improvising the song together, one line after another before coming together for the famous finale.

Their performance had attracted a crowd and Gryffindors from all years were lounging on the common room furniture around them, laughing appreciatively and throwing over other carol recommendations for them to try. Sirius however seemed to have exhausted his creativity as he collapsed down into an armchair and turned on the radio instead.

It was the news and the newsreader was sounding particularly grim.

"Hey, turn that up!" Someone called and Sirius did so.

"To repeat, twenty-two muggle children and their teacher have been killed in a primary school in the West Midlands. And it has, in the last hour, been confirmed by Eugenia Jenkins herself that this was indeed a wizard's murder. Let's listen to what she had to say…"

The atmosphere in the common room could not have been any more different compared to a moment ago. The whole room listened in shock as the minister for magic told how her office had been alerted to the attacks by an undercover wizard in the muggle police department. The attacks had been reported as all the children and their teacher had been found simply dead, with no explainable injuries or other harm done, leading them to understand it to have been done by magic.

The news reporter's voice came on air again. "There is no doubt that this is a very dark time for the wizarding community. Not since Grindelwald's rise to power have we seen the likes of crimes such as this. It is a very ominous sign indeed and one that Eugenia Jenkins' office will surely be investigating as a matter of urgency."

"How awful." Remus whispered. He looked as though he were on the verge of tears.

"It's happening." Sirius said grimly and they all looked at him.

"What's happening?"

"The war. We all knew it was coming."

"What war?" James asked. He didn't know about any wars. He didn't read the paper and he never listened when his parents spoke about the news. What would an eleven-year-old need to know about any of that anyway?

"Things like this have been happening for months." Sirius said, gesturing at the radio and turning to face them. "First there were the odd unexplained death here and there, then there were the Knights of Walpurgis..."

"The what?"

"Sort of like a radical group. They think only pureblood wizards should rule. They want to cleanse the wizarding population and overthrow the statute of secrecy."

"They what?!" James exclaimed, horrified.

"Well, I'm not saying I agree with them." Sirius said a little defensively. "But some of the murders in the last month ended up being linked back to them. They'd done publicity work before. Written articles, given interviews, that sort of thing. But they'd never mentioned explicitly what they would be prepared to do to seize power. I guess now we know." And he gestured helplessly at the radio, where the newsreader was indeed now discussing the group.

"That's absurd." James said. The idea of mass murder and violence by a group that wanted to overthrow the statute of secrecy was just too awful for words. "That won't happen." He said firmly. "They won't let that happen."

"Who, exactly? You mean the grown ups? The people in charge? Because they always know best, right..."

"They'll sort it out." James said. They had to. If his parents could sort out anything then he was sure the ministry of magic would be able to as well, whatever opinions 'Madam Marsh of West Yorkshire' was now offering on the subject of politicians.

"I hope you're right." Sirius sighed. "But I think it's best to be realistic. When you're aware you can prepare."

Prepare for what though? A war? Was that really where they were headed? He looked at Sirius. His friend was staring into the fire. James could see the amber lights reflected in his grey eyes and it was as though he were seeing something for the first time.

And James wondered if perhaps he could see it too. Of course they were still children. They still behaved like children. They still made snowmen and locked Snivellus in cupboards. But in this moment, here together, it seemed like they were somehow more than that. Tonight they had become part of something and if Sirius was right and there was a war then James knew that he'd be right there fighting alongside him. There were some things in life that were just worth fighting for, he realised, and if the precious friendship they had come to know this term wasn't one of them, he didn't know what was.