James Potter and the Year of Chasing

James waited by the doors to the Great Hall, trying to look unobtrusive. From the doorway he could see both the Great Hall and the corridors leading to it, which was helpful as he needed to keep an eye on several people at once. Peter, his partner-in-crime for the evening, was sitting at the Gryffindor table with Remus. Snape, the intended victim, had left the Slytherin table a few minutes previous, heading towards the dungeons. All of the teachers were at the High Table, except for Professor Point, who had walked in the direction of the library, and Professor Trelawny, who was only rarely seen outside of the Astronomy Tower. The Slytherin table was filled near to overflowing, which meant there would be few Slytherins in the dorms. Conditions were nearly ideal for an hour of sabotage and burglary, except for one small detail: Sirius was nowhere to be found. James frowned impatiently. He could probably accomplish the deed alone, without the aid of a distraction in the Slytherin common room...but it would be much more difficult, and also much less entertaining. He was really looking forward to pulling one over, not just on Snape, but on all the Slytherins. But time was passing; before long, the Slytherins would be finishing dinner, and teachers would once again prowl the hallways, and it’d be too risky to attempt a break-in.

“James!”

James whirled about to see Sirius pounding down the hallway, grinning broadly. “Took you long enough,” he said reproachfully.

“That’s gratitude. Next time you can brew your own distraction. Let me watch; I’d love to see you melt your cauldron through the table again.”

James glowered. “That was four years ago!”

“Your point?”

“Sod off, Sirius, and hand it over. Time’s running short.”

“Take it easy, Prongs.” Sirius handed a small bottle to James. “Here. Just pour it on the ground. There’ll be smoke enough to attract a dragon, and after a few seconds it’ll mesmerize anyone in the area.” He looked smug. “Invented that bit over the summer; been dying for a chance to try it out.”

“It sounds excellent, but are you sure it’ll work? If those Slytherins aren’t good and distracted--“

“They will be. Have I ever let you down?”

“No.” James grinned suddenly, and clasped his friend’s arm. “Thanks, Padfoot. How long will the mesmer last?”

“About ten minutes. It has a range of about ten metres, so be sure you’re away before it starts, and don’t look at the smoke even if you are out of range. Here, use this bit of wire here to attach the bottle to Peter. You’ll have to open it for him, though.”

“That’s not a problem.” James held up the small bottle. The liquid inside was clear; it could easily have been water. “You’re not having me on, are you?” he said with sudden suspicion. “It’d be quite the trick, to leave me and Peter surrounded by Slytherins.”

Sirius grinned. “It would, but I’m not about to give Snape the satisfaction of catching you breaking rules. It’d make him far too happy. If you ever decide to raid the Hufflepuff dorms, then you should worry about sabotage. That’s really it, James. It’ll start reacting when it comes into contact with the air, so keep the bottle shut until you're ready.”

“Right.” James pocketed the bottle and looked around the Great Hall. It was filled nearly to bursting; each of the giant tables was crowded with students. Dinner was at its high point; this would be his best chance. “We’ll meet you and Remus in the tower afterwards. Save some food for us.”

“Marauding is a hungry business,” Sirius said solemnly.

James grinned and looked over at the Gryffindor table. Peter and Remus were sitting there, watching him and Sirius in the doorway. James motioned, and Peter stood up to leave. Remus said something; Peter laughed, then ducked as Sirius attempted to hit him on the head before taking his seat. Peter walked up to James. “Now?” he said, nervous excitement in his voice.

“Now,” James said firmly. “Come on. We’ve got to be quick if we want to finish before dinner’s over.”

They walked through the hallways down to the dungeon, talking easily about Care of Magical Creatures so as not to arouse suspicion in anyone they passed. In no time at all they were at the dungeons. The area looked deserted, but just in case, James ducked aside into a niche in a wall before pulling out the invisibility cloak. He swung it around his shoulders while Peter made his transformation. James leaned out to check that the halls were still empty; they were.

He bent down and picked up Peter, who was remarkably quiet for someone being lifted by an invisible hand. James pulled the bottle out of his pocket. Carefully, he tied the wire around Peter’s waist so that the bottle rested on his back, with the opening pointing towards Peter’s tail. He tugged at the wire a bit. “How’s that?” he asked quietly. “Does it feel secure enough to you?”

There was an affirmative squeak. Still holding the rat in his hand, hidden underneath the cloak, James approached the stone wall that hid the entrance to the Slytherin dorms. “Wyvern wing,” he muttered. The stone wall began to shift and shimmer, and an opening appeared. James stepped through, and scanned his new surroundings thoroughly.

The Slytherin common room was long and chilly; the walls and floor were all made of stone, covered here and there with green carpets and tapestries. A large fireplace was set in one wall; several chairs were placed close to it, and the few students who weren’t up at dinner were all staying close to the fire. James smirked inwardly; the place must be deadly cold in winter. There was a lot of open space, which would be handy if things got crowded. He surveyed the room, trying to gauge which hallway would lead to his goal.

One of the students by the fire left his high-backed chair and walked towards a hallway. James stifled a howl of delight; it was Snape. Snape walked quickly towards a hallway and entered a door at the end of the passage; after a few minutes, he reemerged holding a book and returned to his seat by the fire.

James grinned to himself. This was going to be too easy.

He bent down and gently deposited Peter on the floor behind one of the chairs. Carefully, he unhinged the little bottle tied to the rat’s back. As soon as this was completed, he whispered, “Go!”

Peter immediately began to run in a wide circle around the Slytherin common room; the bottle was designed to not let out too much liquid at once, so the potion was well spread over the area before it began to work. Wisps of mist began to rise from the ground; the wisps grew into clouds of inky purple. The few students in the area had begun to notice, and were calling out for others to come see. Even Snape was eyeing the clouds with wary curiosity. James wished he could stay to watch the fun; the potion looked to be everything Sirius had promised. He checked for Peter, and saw the rat was running down one of the corridors, out of range of the effects of the potion. James cast one more delighted glance at the violet smoke, which was now shimmering and sparking in the air, then sneaked down the corridor he’d seen Snape use. He’d only gone a few feet before the hustle and bustle from the common room ceased, as abruptly as though everyone in it had Disapparated. So far, everything was going according to plan.

At the end of the corridor was a large room, filled with beds and belongings but completely empty of people. By the bunk in the corner was a large, black trunk; Snape’s name was written on it in ornate silver letters, and it had no less than six locks. James stifled a snort that was equal parts amazement and disbelief. He’d never seen so many locks and protection spells outside of a teacher’s office; Snape was obviously paranoid. Which was only fair, James supposed; he’d be paranoid, too, if he lived with a bunch of Slytherins. Fortunately, he’d come prepared. Quickly and carefully, he began dismantling the locks. The first attempted to bite the end of his wand, but opened with a simple Alohamora. Another unlocked only after he used a tricky charm to make the inner gears too slippery to work. The last responded to no spells at all; that one James opened using a set of Muggle lockpicks he’d picked up in London. He smirked; it was just like Snape to include a magicproof lock. Most wizards at the school wouldn’t have the foggiest idea how to deal with one.

It took longer than he’d intended--by his reckoning, nine of the precious ten minutes were gone before he’d finished--but finally the trunk was opened. James whistled quietly as he eyed the contents. Most of it was pretty ordinary: books, spell components, clothes. But James saw a few unmistakable tomes of dark magic mixed in with the books, and some of the herbs were absolutely forbidden to students. It was a pity James couldn’t let his presence in the Slytherin dorms be discovered; if any teachers got wind of Snape’s trunk, the git would probably be expelled.

James sighed. Tempting as the thought was, there was no way to pull it off now. He grabbed what he’d come for, noting with amusement that Snape seemed to have written his name inside every article of clothing he owned.

There was a sudden burst of noise from the common rooms, followed by the sound of footsteps running down the hallway.

James slammed the lid of the trunk down with a loud bang, tucking the undershorts away inside a pocket and drawing the cloak close around him. He stood up, backing away into the center of the room and watching the doorway carefully.

Snape appeared, his eyes darting around the empty room suspiciously. His gaze fell upon the trunk; he must have seen that it was unlocked, because he snarled and lunged towards it. Silent as a cat, James slid around him and through the door. Once outside the room, he walked as quickly as he could down the hallway towards the common room; any minute now the Slytherins would be heading back to their dorms, and he needed to be clear of the halls before then or risk being caught. Fortunately, most of the Slytherins weren’t as suspicious as Snape; they were still gathered in the center of the common room, talking excitedly and staring at the ceiling, where a few wisps of smoke still lingered. James looked around, then cursed under his breath. Peter was running across the floor towards the portal. In his excitement and anxiety to get away, he was openly bolting. A few of the Slytherins had noticed, and were eyeing the rat with curiosity; one burly fifth-year was moving to intercept him. There was a roar of rage from behind, and James knew that Snape was looking for whoever had dared to go through his things. He had to get Peter and get out, fast, before the other Slytherins joined in the search; his invisibility cloak would be no help at all in a crowd.

He sprinted forward, chasing after Peter and reaching him just before the Slytherin fifth-year, who gasped as the rat suddenly disappeared into thin air. Peter, mercifully, must have guessed what had happened, because he was limp and quiet in James’ grasp. James weaved through the approaching Slytherins and bolted for the exit, praying that the invisibility cloak was still covering him. To his relief, no one seemed to see him. Snape was bellowing in the background, ordering someone to block the door, but James got there first. From this side, the portal was an ordinary-looking door; he pushed it open and all but leapt through. He looked over his shoulder and nearly laughed with relief; the stone wall had reformed behind them.

But he was so busy looking for a sign of pursuit from behind that he forgot to look ahead, and crashed soundly into someone walking through the corridor.

There was a small shriek of surprise, some high-pitched squeaking from Peter, and James couldn’t stop himself from giving out a yelp of dismay. They all fell to the ground, a tangle of limbs and confusion, and the invisibility cloak was pulled off.

“What on earth--?”

He looked up to find a girl regarding him with astonishment. The sight held him transfixed for a split second; he’d never seen eyes so startlingly green.

Then the reality of his circumstances returned; he could hear the stone wall shifting open again behind him, could hear Snape’s muffled curses. Quickly he scrambled to his feet, pulling the invisibility cloak over his head. The girl he’d run into--Lily Evans, he identified, another Gryffindor prefect--let out another gasp and pulled herself up, gazing searchingly at the place where James had disappeared.

“Evans!” Snape shouted at Lily as he emerged. “Did you see anyone come through here?”

“Don’t tell,” James whispered in her ear. “Please don’t tell.”

But Lily’s face had hardened at the sight of Snape, and she had already regained her composure. She didn’t answer, merely watched with intense dislike as Snape growled and searched the area. “He must be here,” he hissed. “It must have been Potter or Black. It could only have been one of them.” He whirled back to Lily. “You’re hiding something!”

Lily crossed her arms over her chest and said, coolly, “You can see as well as I that the corridors are empty, Snape. You must have been imagining things.”

“Show me where he is or I’ll tell Dumbledore that you’re an accomplice to a breaking and entering of my dorm room,” he snarled. “We’ll see how clean your record is after that.”

“My, aren’t we threatening,” Lily answered, unruffled. “I’ve never been so terrified.”

James was having a great deal of trouble not laughing as Snape turned purple with fury. “Listen here, you filthy--“

“You can speak more respectfully, Severus Snape, or I’ll write you up,” Lily interrupted, smiling sweetly. “You are causing a disturbance in the halls, after all; as a prefect it’s my duty to report you. Though in your case it’d be a pleasure.”

James prepared himself; Snape looked like he wanted to throttle Lily, and he might be angry enough to do it. James might want to avoid being seen, but he wasn’t about to let a fight break out over it, particularly not between his worst enemy and an innocent bystander. Though Lily was still a picture of unconcern, apparently not in the least worried by Snape’s fury.

“I say, is there a problem?”

It was Professor Point, the Arithmancy teacher. James hadn’t noticed her approach; from the look of it, neither had Snape.

“I’m afraid Severus here has been imagining things, Professor,” Lily said amiably, as though they’d been discussing the weather.

Snape swelled until he seemed to be on the verge of exploding. “My room’s been broken into!” He pointed a finger at Lily. “And she knows who did it!”

Professor Point looked at Lily. “Is this true, Miss Evans? Was someone in the Slytherin dormitories?”

“I’m sorry, Professor, but I’m afraid I didn’t see anyone come through the portal except for Severus.”

James had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing. Professor Point looked a little suspicious, and Snape outraged, but Lily’s face was the epitome of honest innocence.

“Well then,” Professor Point said finally. “If there has been an intrusion into your room, Mr. Snape, you would do best to bring it up with the head of Slytherin House. I’m sure he will make sure the matter is investigated thoroughly. Miss Evans, you may go.” Snape opened his mouth to protest, glaring furiously at Lily, but Professor Point silenced him with a look.

“Thank you, Professor.” Lily smiled sweetly at Snape. “Good luck, Severus. I do hope you catch them.” Her voice dripped with sincerity; Snape looked murderous. James wished he had a camera; he wanted that expression immortalized.

Lily walked away, slow and inconspicuous; James followed. After a few minutes, she whispered, “Are you still here?”

“Yes,” James answered. He looked over his shoulder to see Professor Point leading Snape in the opposite direction. As soon as the corridors were deserted, he whipped the cloak off and bundled it under one arm. This time Lily didn’t so much as flinch at his sudden appearance. “Thank you,” he said lightly as she paused to look at him. “Your help was invaluble.”

“Believe me, it’s my pleasure to get that greasy, noodle-brained nitwit in trouble.” She eyed the cloth bundle and shook her head. “That’s an invisibility cloak. No wonder you get away with so many tricks.”

“I’ll admit it comes in handy. You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

“Well...that depends,” she said in a thoughtful tone.

He felt his heart sink. Surely she wasn’t going to blackmail him? “Depends on what?”

“On whether or not you promise to throw something at Snape’s head in my behalf, next time you get a chance. Preferably something slimy.”

James chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.”

She was looking down at his feet; Peter had scrambled up the corridor to catch up with them, now that the excitement was over, and was resting on James’ shoe. “I didn’t know you had a pet rat.”

“Oh, he’s an old friend. Name of Wormtail,” James said airily.

“Wormtail?” Lily repeated. “That’s a silly sort of name.”

“It was his idea.” Peter chittered and jumped on James’ foot; James tried to ignore the sensation of little teeth scraping at his shoe, glaring at his transformed friend and silently willing him to stop being irritating. “I’m sorry I ran into you, by the way.”

“Yes, you should be.” She grinned suddenly. “But I’ll forgive you if you tell me what you were doing in the Slytherin dorms.”

James grinned back. “You’ll see on Hallowe'en.”

“That’s hardly fair; if it weren’t for me, you’d have detention at the very least, and god only knows how many points you would have lost for Gryffindor. And that cloak would certainly have been confiscated.”

“Seriously, you won’t tell about the cloak, will you?” he asked earnestly. “It belongs to my father, I’m not supposed to have it. He’ll kill me if it’s confiscated.”

“It’d serve you right if I did--“ Lily smiled. “But I won’t tell. Though if I ever catch you sneaking around our dorm with it on--”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

She raised an eyebrow, her expression skeptical. “Of course not,” she said in a wry voice. To his amazement, James felt himself flush, and wondered if she could somehow read his mind; he and Sirius had once used the cloak to spy on the Gryffindor girls’ bathroom.

Lily let out a small sigh. “Well, if you won’t tell me what you were up to, I may as well go see what’s left of dinner. I certainly hope your prank was worth all this trouble.”

“It will be,” he promised.

She tossed him one final skeptical smile, then walked briskly down the corridor towards the Great Hall.

James stood still, watching her retreating form. It was odd, he thought. He’d been at school with Lily Evans for more than five years, but he could count the number of times he’d spoken to her on one hand, despite the fact that they were both prefects. Still, he had a sense of her personality, and the night’s events didn’t quite tally with it. He wouldn’t have guessed that she’d be willing to deceive a teacher, or that she hated Snape as much as she obviously did.

And where did she get those eyes?

James didn’t realize he was staring until Peter began scurrying about excitedly. Even in high-pitched rat squeakings, his meaning came through loud and clear: Oooooh, Prongs, see something you like?

“Stuff it, Wormtail,” James muttered. “Or I’ll step on you. Come on, let’s get back to Gryffindor tower. I’m starving.”

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