The Marauders' Memories

New Term

Chapter 11- New Term

Steam rose out of the Hogwarts express as it began making its way towards Hogwarts. As expected James Potter and Sirius Black were chattering non stop about everything funny.

'It was HILARIOUS when Grandpa sat on the whoopee cushion. Even he thought it was funny! Muggle things aren't that bad!'

'But next time we could add a bit of magic to it, you know, make it smell...'

'Oh yeah, I bet Snivillus would like that! Know any smells?'

'No, but I stole a potion from home!' As Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew walked by, they do did what was expected, the former shaking his head, the latter, sniggering into his hand.

'They're so cool! I'd like to be friends with them, but I'm not up to their standards...' Remus smiled warmly.

'You are, Peter, you're a great friend. Don't worry about them not liking you, at least you're a Gryffindor!' Peter suddenly beamed and they made their way back to their compartment, just as James left his own. He scooted around the train until he found what, or rather who, he was looking for.

'Snivellus is in the forth cart, in the first left compartment'

'Didn't need to know that much detail. What the problem is now is that he is practically at the other end of the train!' James gave a smug grin, before reaching for his bag.

'Well, Dad wanted to wait to see if mischief affects my work, however since he doesn't, he gave me a family heirloom that'll allow us to rewrite mischief...' He dramatically pulled out the Cloak of Invisibility, the silvery material fluttering gracefully. Sirius immediately knew what it was.

'An Invisibility Cloak!?'

'Not just any invisibility cloak! Most wear out within a lifetime, but this has been passed down in my family for centuries! It's a perfect invisibility cloak!'

'Wicked!'

'Well, don't just sit there gasping at it! Snivellus needs some pranking!' The two went under the invisibility cloak, and made their way towards the forth carriage, thankfully the corridors were pretty empty. When they were outside Snape's compartment, James revealed the simple whoppee cushion, while Sirius pulled out a pungent potion. The whoppee cushion was filled with the potion, and a charm was placed on it to prevent it from coming out. Sirius then emerged from under the cloaca and banged on their compartment door. Mulciber slammed the door open, and stormed out, swiftly followed by Avery, Parkinson and Snape. Sirius heard the swish of a cloak in the 'empty' compartment. He then ran down the carriage. He held up his wand and used the 'nox' charm to remove all the lights. When the light was returned, Sirius had completely disappeared. The four Slytherins returned to their compartment with scowls on their faces and two Gryffindors watching them under an invisibility cloak. They held their breath as Snape sat on the whoppee cushion, hidden under a disillusion charm.

'Ppppppfffffffffffftttttttttttttt' Whatever potion was in the cushion caused the noise to sound very drawn out. James and Sirius both fell to the floor laughing silently. Snape turned a bright red.

'It wasn't me, I swear, I didn't...' He stopped abruptly as the indescribable smell filled the room and carriage. Snape and the rest of the compartment gagged and coughed. As the smell diffused outside, James, Sirius and the rest of the carriage joined in. It was like a mix of rotten eggs, many old socks and vomit. As James and Sirius tried to leave, the invisibility cloak slipped of, and the Slytherins in the compartment stumbled out.

'What the hell...WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? ARE YOU BEHIND THIS?' Parkinson yelled, pointing at the two. They both smirked, coughed, and ran away with the invisibility cloak.

'What a journey!' Sirius exclaimed as they walked into the Great Hall. They sat down, and stared straight at the Slytherin table. Several of the Slytherins were looking a little pale or ill, like they had been vouching and gagging at a horrible smell. Both boys felt a little guilty as they saw some Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors with similar, pale faces; There weren't only Slytherins in the carriage. This guilt was quickly forgotten as they saw the paler-than-the-rest faces of Mulciber, Avery, Parkinson and Snape. They were all glaring at the two, Snape hardest of them all. Peakes and Cootes then sat on their side.

'Everyone's talking about it, and they are all saying you caused that smell in the forth carriage. Is that true?' Sirius and James nodded, and Peakes and Coots started laughing loudly. Meanwhile, on sir other side, Lily Evans sat down. However she saw James next to her, pulled a face, and moved away from James, leaving D'Arcy Warsh besides James. James looked at Lily.

'What's up, Evans?'

'You tricked Severus in a really mean way. I can't stand people who are like you.' She walked away with her nose in the air. Sirius saw Snape was now looking at Lily with a slightly dazed look. He smirked and pointed him out to James, who immediately muttered something like 'poor her...'

'James! Sirius! Is that whoppee cushion prank true?'

'Of corse!'

'Cool! I once used a whoppee cushion on my dad, it was so funny!'

'Wait, the nice, clever and gentle Lupin, playing a prank on his father!'

'Why not? It is harmless and hilarious. Although adding a potion that caused everyone to choke...'

'Relax! We found out what it was, and it is actually a healing potion! But, there was a lot of it, which causes a terrible smell, but it is actually quite harmless. The smell is just unpleasant.' Remus looked reassured. James and Sirius looked at each other, surprised at this new side of Remus. They watched him chat to Peter for a bit, before they were dismissed, and they made their way towards their common room, accidentally, on purpose bumping into the first year Slytherin boys, who dared not to do anything more than snarl at them with the headmaster watching. When they reached there, all the boys went into their room and started chatting about each of their holidays. Sirius told everyone about the Black's party, Cootes share his story on how beat both his parents in flying practice and Quidditch practice, and Remus showed pictures from the Museum of Quidditch. (You actually went there?' Yelled James, Sirius, Peakes and Cootes). Peter listened quietly through their stories, before Remus coaxed him out of his shell and got him to talk. The other four boys rarely experienced this sort of kindness and silence fell, allowing Remus to coax out Peter easier, who told them the trouble the toy puffin had caused when it escaped from the shed into Remus's house, with the muggles in the house. They then all started talking about pranks, and not so surprisingly p, James and Sirius vagan talking much louder, and with more enthusiasm, yet both were weary, so didn't reveal anything unnecessary.

'What plans have you got for this term?' Peakes asked curiously.

'Se-c-ret' Sirius teased. The boys tried to get more out of them, bot failed.

'Be that way then!' Peaked cried, but with a smile on his face.

'Alright.' James replied, and he and the rest of the boys flopped on to their beds, and drifted into sleep.

Their first lesson was Charms, and they were revising levitating charms for a small test next lesson. The class began swishing and flicking their wands, and they soon found the lesson had ended. They made their way towards their next lesson, transfiguration. Remus had no idea how this lesson would affect him...forever. McGonagall had set them a homework over the holiday to revise everything they had already learned. The reason why was evident, like with Flitwick, they were going to have a test. They had to change toothpicks into needles, the shinier the better, change the shape of a round, rubber ball, and other little transfiguration. In the end, Sirius got the highest in class, James right behind him by one point. When McGonagall turned to speak to some Slytherins in the front row, Remus and Peter swivelled around to talk to the two.

'Well done! Highest and second highest in class!' Peter whispered excitedly.

'Yeah! We both beat Lupin!'

'Well, I can't be good at everything...'

'Woah! Don't look so glum! It's just a joke!'

'But it's true though...'

'Well what are friends for? Annoying each other to death, and competing with them in everything of corse!' Lupin looked bewildered.

'Friends...'

'Yes, Nitwick, friends! Now, want to leave class?' James and Sirius dashed outside, a rather confused Remus and Peter following. Surprisingly, they had gone to the library. As they entered, Peter gasped, and muttered something about homework being due tomorrow. Remus followed James and Sirius as they sat down at a table.

'Friends? What do you mean? I'm nothing like you! When did we become friends?' James looked at him in a weird way, but Sirius looked quite understanding.

'It's hard to understand friends when you feel left out, and different. I know. I won't ask you about anything but, yeah, you're cool. I think we both though we needed a friend like you, just to keep us in check, yet you are fun to be with.'

James looked even more confused.

'Don't worry James. It'll be hard for you to understand it.' He nodded, trying to piece it together in his mind. Remus smiled at Sirius.

'From when have we been friends? I'd like to know more about this thing. So far, my only friend is Peter, only as we were both left out.'

'Well, since you talked about the whoppee cushion. We like to see that sense of humor.'

'Great, and what was I to you before that?'

'A different kind of friend. In a more I-like-you-and-we-share-classes-and-a-dormitory-with-you friendship.'

'Like with Peakes, Cootes and Peter?'

That's more of a We-all-like-Quidditch friendship for Peakes and Cootes...'

'For God's sake, let me in on this!' James interrupted loudly.

'OUT!' The librarian screeched even louder, her angry face looking deranged, as she appeared from behind a shelf.

None of the boys hesitated in doing so.

The bell rung for the end of break and the three made their way towards their next lesson. Remus beamed. He never expected so many friends, let anyone anyone like James and Sirius. Sirius glanced back at Remus, and watched his face, which, despite having to hide a massive secret, was quite easy to read. Sirius could swear he saw his own feelings from when James first called him a friend. He smiled, and continued smiling until he walked right into the door, while James behind him, walked right into him. They both crashed onto the floor. Sirius was dragged up by two Ravenclaws, while James was pulled up by Remus, Lily Evans and D'Arcy Warsh. When he saw the two girls, a pink tinge appeared on his cheeks and Sirius smirked at him. A ghost called the class in, and everyone groaned as they saw Professor Binns sitting at the front (though few truly believed he would have a cover, being a ghost means you never get ill, or tired). The lesson stared, and a couple of Ravenclaws and Remus began taking notes. Sirius got a history of magic textbook from the shelf at the back, and James and himself began reading it. In the end, Remus also used the textbook, rather than following the teacher; the grusome moving pictures and detailed description made everything seem so much more exciting than Binns. After what felt like an eternity everyone was dismissed.

'That textbook was so useful! Better than Professor Binns plain notes!'

'Wow, we are helping Remus study. That's an achievement!' Remus noticed the use of his first name, and smiled.

'Well, I'm going to starch up with Peter?'

'Come on, you can do better than that!

'He's actually quite a nice friend, now I know what they are.' Sirius gave him another empathetic look, but James looked frustrated.

'Do you have to keep talking about how you didn't have friend, as that was then, and now you you, in fact you have had a friend for an entire term!' His face was rather flustered.

'What's up, James, it looks like you've seen a girl or something!' Sirius gave a loud laugh. Remus walked away to find Peter, while Sirius sat sniggering at Remus' comment.

'Look James it's Evans and Warsh!' He suddenly cried. James's flustered face shot up suddenly, and Sirius was sure a bone in him had been broken. James looked at the empty landscape before, looking at Sirius and shaking his head.

'Immature little thing!'

'If I'm that, what are you?' Janes opened his mouth, before closing it, like a goldfish. After a few minutes, the silence was too much for James, who began laughing loudly. Sirius joined in. Remus walked up to them.

'Right, what happened?'

'I'm being the immature little thing, with being a father. Both boys laughed harder at Remus' confused face. Sirius opened his mouth again but Remus glared at him.

'Sort, professor Lup...' With a swish of a cloak, he strutted away into the castle, soon followed by the others, as the smell soup drew them to the hall. Jame stopped abruptly.

'Is that..' he sniffed the air again. For a third time that day, his face went red.

'BEANS!' He cried.

Sirius burst into laughter.