The Marauding Five - Year One

The Marauding Five : Year One

Chapter 10: Secret Discoveries

Lily grumbled to herself as she rubbed furiously at the cauldron she was cleaning. Why, of all the detentions they could get, must they clean the cauldrons? It’ll be used the very next day anyway, so what’s the point? James and Remus were having the same thoughts. Sirius, however, was having a different one. Sure, they clean cauldrons and it’ll be used the next day, but there’s a part the professors had always forgotten. This detention will give them more chance on pulling a prank.

Sirius happily draw a few Filibuster’s Fireworks from his robes and start planting them in the cauldrons. All of the Slytherins’ cauldrons, in fact. He was enjoying himself, and the other three had decided that their friend had lost the top deck as he hummed himself a little tune.

Soon, their stomachs began to complain. The four hadn’t eaten yet, because of their detention, and were terribly hungry. Out of energy and working source, the Marauders flopped down. Someone should come with their food, but no, they were forgotten by the teachers already. Lily groaned as she stared at the number of cauldrons they had yet to polish. She pulled out her wand tiredly before muttering a spell under her breath. Her energy gone, her hand fell in a lifeless way by her side as the cauldrons glimmered and shine brightly.

‘Why didn’t we do that earlier?’ James moaned. ‘Because I’d forgotten all about it?’ Lily answered tiredly. ‘YOU? The charms’ top student? Forget you best subject?’ Sirius put in sarcastically as he flopped on the floor. ‘Sirius, my best subject is every subject,’ Lily grumbled from the ground. ‘Come on, anyone has food or chocolate?’ Remus asked weakly, his pale face paler than usual.

‘You’re asking me? I have Bursting Butterbeer, but I doubt it’ll fill you.’

‘Nu-uh. Nothing. All went in last night.’

‘Sorry Remus. I kinda ate everything with Sirius.’

The groaned again as they fell on the cold, dungeon floor. Lily then suggested that they go find some food and everyone put a full vote on it. They stumbled out – or rather, in Sirius’ case, crawl – and headed towards the Great Hall. Maybe it was because of their head feeling dizzy that they found themselves at a dead end, with only a picture of a fruits hanging. Sirius leaned tiredly at the painting as Lily and James looked miserable for themselves. Remus looked ready to faint at any minute as the four groaned inwardly. Neither felt like walking any more.

Just then, Sirius’ long hair brushed across the pear as it sent out a high-pitched giggle before opening an entrance to a huge room. Sirius moved away awkwardly as he looked around, expecting another poltergeist in the castle besides Peeves. The remaining trio gaped at the scene before them as the delicious baking smell made its way to their noses. Sirius stared at the sight before them all. They had found the kitchens.

They rushed into the kitchen quickly as thousands of house elves prepared the food for the oncoming dinner. They scurried busily all over, carrying huge plates of roast chicken, fried beef, puddings – everything! A few ran to them before asking politely, ‘How may we help you Misters and Miss?’

The children list off everything they want – from gravy all the way to different varieties of puddings and ate contently. The house elves were delighted and scurried off to make more. The Marauders ate everything until they were all full and thanked the elves sincerely. ‘Mister and miss must come back anytime you want food for us will make them for misters and miss!’ they replied happily.

The Marauders left happily to their common room, glad that they wouldn’t go starving now that they’d found their way to the kitchen.

‘Well, who’d have thought that the kitchen entrance will be hidden by a picture? No wonder Billy said it was hard to find the kitchens!’ Sirius said gleefully as they passed the Fat Lady with the password (Talking Tambourines).

‘Hey, now that we’d found the kitchens, how about the other passages? It’ll be fun and boy, will we surprise ol’ Filch!’ James exclaimed eagerly.

‘Rumor has it that there are four secret passages in Hogwarts, but it was never proven true,’ Lily said.

‘How about finding them all? It’ll be great fun!’ Remus said happily. The color had come back to his face and he looked less pale than before.

‘Right. We’ll have to turn this place upside down for them.’

‘Think of all the shortcuts we can use!’

‘Then what are we waiting for?’

‘Okay, I’ll take command.’

‘Sorry Sirius. If you do, we’ll be finding Filch more than the passages.’

‘Hey, is that supposed to be an insult?’

‘Technically, yes. I think I’ll take over. Remus, you go for the third floor. James, try the fourth floor. There’s bound to be something suspicious there. I saw Filch disappearing in there before. Sirius, how about ransacking the seventh floor corridors? I’ll take over the fifth floor.’

‘Aye aye, Captain Lily!’

‘No. It’s not captain Lily!! It’s the pompous, egoistical, show off–’

‘One more word James, and you’ll be in the hospital wing before you can say "Lily".’

‘Sorry. I don’t think there’s a law restricting me to talk, so I’m free to use my mouth however I please.’

‘Argh!! Just get on with the marauding!’

‘Aye!’

And they scattered to their respective floors.

**

Remus looked around him. He had turned half the floor upside down to search for a secret passage. He sighed as he leaned against a statue of a witch nearby a classroom. Who cares which classroom this is? I’m dead tired and maybe Lily had her suspicions wrong, since I can’t even find anything. Yet. Then again, I have half the corridor more to search. Remus sighed blissfully at that thought.

He had looked in all the tiniest cracks and had tried tapping his wand over a hundred times on various objects; all to nothing. Remus turned to the statue he was leaning against before examining it for small cracks or anything that could lead him anywhere.

He stared at the hump-backed witch. She stared back with her one eye. Remus tapped it with his wand, after giving up the search for a crack. The one eyed witch shivered slightly, sending a slight rumble. Remus’ heart skipped a beat. That’s it! I found it! Lily’s no doubt right about searching the third floor! Remus thought excitedly to himself. Now, to open it…

The boy looked around the statue after it rumbled, hoping for it to move aside or reveal an opening to a secret passage. It did nothing of that sort. Instead, the witch seemed to glare at him even more, as if furious. He searched about it for any signs of crack. Frustrated, Remus kicked at the witch before wincing in pain.

‘Right, there’s got to be a password,’ Remus muttered as he waved his wand over the bruise on his foot to cure the pain.

‘Let’s see… hey, old hag, open up!’

Nothing happened.

‘Show your secret!’

Absolute silence.

‘Argh! You stupid statue, open up!!’

The witch glared.

‘Open up, o great cave of wonders!’

Remus swore that the witch almost burst out laughing.

‘Uh, sorry, but can you open up?’

Her teeth looked dangerously at Remus. He gulped.

‘Look, I need a password and I know you conceal a passage, so show it!’

The statue showed her tongue at him.

‘Okay, gimme the password and I won’t bother you. Else, I’ll make sure that you’ll end up with a curse.’

As if on cue, the witch’s one eyeball rolled down, right onto Remus’ already bruised foot.

‘YEOWCH!!!!!!! Hey, you can try learning manners y’know! Hmmm? What’s this?’

He picked up the eyeball with difficulty before rolling it over, revealing small, carved words.

‘Dissendium.’

The witch’s humped open to reveal a small opening, big enough to fit Sirius.

‘Cool! Hey, maybe I should put a charm on you for rolling your eyeball on my leg?’

She glared angrily at Remus before closing the hump. Remus rolled the eyeball back into it’s place before leaving and muttered a hurry ‘sorry’ to the stone.

**

Sirius was grumbling inwardly about Lily taking charge. Knowing Lily, she’ll get back on him whenever she could.

On the previous Transfiguration class, Lily had changed her table into a magnificent model of a small Hogwarts castle. When she took it to show McGonagall (it was a dare from McGonagall), Sirius had hexed it with a leaping frog curse, so McGonagall ended up leaping around the castle for the rest of the day, earning Lily a detention. Lily hadn’t minded that much for the detention, but ten points had been taken off Gryffindor for offending the head of the house.

He was moving a few pictures on their frames when a short knight on a stout looking pony called out to him.

‘You, filthy lad! I shall challenge thou to a fight; sword to sword! No filth is to trespass this stairway as Sir Cadogan, bravest knight of all with the most shiniest armor and the best pony and the best sword-’

Sirius looked bored as he shooed the small knight away, simply by stampeding on his painting as the knight cried out in pain. The long haired boy glared angrily at the painting, now full with his shoe-prints all over, before hissing him quiet. Sir Cadogan meekly nodded as Sirius, grumbling, walked up the spiral stairway.

He stamped hardly at the stairs as his feet groaned at the pain. Sirius ignored them as he search the paintings for any secret passages. Suddenly, he felt himself falling. Down… down… down… all the way to the bottom. Caught by surprise, he gave a frighten yelp as he tried to grab hold of anything near him. I’d forgotten all about those stupid trick stairways. Why’d anyone build them for anyway? Stupid founders, Sirius grumbled under his breath as he landed, at last, nearby the Charms corridors, in front of a statue of a nymph.

‘Wow,’ Sirius said as he marveled at the nymph. It wasn’t there before. Then again, statues moved around in Hogwarts, just like pictures, so Sirius couldn’t see any reason why he should bother about it not being there before. Fumbling around for his wand, he tapped on it lightly. The nymph turn to him and smiled widely.

‘Okay, open!

‘Open Sesame – wait! That’s from Aladdin, but it might work…

‘Fine, aren’t you telling me? Look, I don’t have much time or Lily’ll come rocketing down here. Smart of her, y’know, to ask me to suffer at the seventh floor. Heck, there’s even some rumors that she might be a psychic! Then again, why’m I telling you this? Open up!

‘Look – nymph, isn’t it? – I’ll give you some gold if you’d open up. Whaddya say? Five galleons?’

The semi-divine maiden shook her pretty head as she held out her fingers.

‘WHAT? You want TEN galleons?’

She shook her head again as she made out the words from her mouth.

‘K-N-U-T-S. Oh, you want ten knuts?’

She nodded.

‘Fine, Lily will have to pay me back later…’

Sirius handed her ten knuts as she gave him a piece of paper. Sirius tapped on her again with his wand before calling ‘Troupessium’ at it. The nymph smiled and moved away, revealing a very dark passage.

‘Hey, since you can move, how about telling me where you’d go to later?’

The statue made a few hand gestures.

‘L-I-B-R-A-R-Y? I take it you’ll be staying there forever? Madam Pince hated statues who moved too much in there.’

She nodded in agreement.

‘Right. Where does this lead to anyway?’

Another hand gesture.

‘F-O-R-E-S-T. The Forbidden Forest? Cool! Thanks nymph! You sure are a help!!’

Sirius kissed it as she blushed a little before walking towards the library.

**

James, meanwhile, was puzzling at the fourth floor, facing a painting. He had been given a quest, or shall I say, a riddle, to enter the secret passage. The buttercups refused to admit him without the answer.

‘Uh, can I have it again?’

‘Listen carefully. If it takes two young men ten days to dig up a garden, how many days will ten young men take to dig up the same garden?’

‘You want to be dug? I can draw two men to dig up your roots…’ James offered as he pulled out his quill to transfigure it into a brush.

‘Perish the thought! Answer the quiz, and you shall enter the breeze!’

‘Why would I enter the breeze?’

‘The wonders of painting will always show, what is more worthy than all the gleaming gold!’

‘Y’mean I’ll enter this painting?’

The golden buttercups nodded.

‘Let me see… is it multiplications? I’m no good at maths, maybe I should bring Lily here. She’s good at them! Uh, five days?’

‘Your answer is wrong, Potter!’

‘Well, I don’t think there’s any garden left to dig, is there? I mean, the previous two had dug it already… argh! That’ll be stupid… and don’t call me Potter!! I have a name, you know!’

‘Entrance admitted, young lad. Enjoy your visit to Hogsmeade.’

‘Can you try not to speak in rhymes? I’m getting a terrible headache. And where did you say this leads? Hogsmeade?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Yay! I’d a passage to Hogsmeade! Thanks! I’ll be back pretty soon!’

**

Lily looked about for a mirror. Wow, I must be psychic, to be able to tell everything! Maybe I’m a Seer, like mom! Lily mused to herself as she walked down the corridors. Lily’s mother was a Seer, and a very good one, too, as her mother had said in her last letter.

At last, finding the mirror, she whispered ‘Elephant Entrances’ before the mirror opened to reveal a secret room. Hey, I am a Seer! ‘cept the password. Gram gave it to me, Lily grinned to herself as she looked around the room. It’s big and needs refurnishing. Clouds upon clouds of dusts gathered everywhere. The carpet on the floor was pack with dust and the couches were covered in plastic, to prevent dust from reaching them. The mahogany table was placed in the middle of the room and paintings were hung all around.

‘Well, now all I have to do is get this room ready for us to meet. Leviosa clearus!’ Lily called as she flicked her wand. Immediately, the room began tidying up for itself and Lily had to run for cover to avoid the flying dusts. When she climbed out from a conveniently placed cupboard, she was showered with broomsticks, quidditch balls (the Quaffle, Bludgers and Snitch), magic chalks and a few charts and diagrams. Arranging everything back into the box, she pushed it into the cupboard before surveying the room before her. The carpet, dust-free, is now highly polished. The couches were free of the plastics, the table has a pot of flowers on it and pot-plants were in a corner of the room, creating a mini garden next to a flowing miniature fountain. Bookshelves filled with thick, advanced books sat in one corner, and beds were set up in another. Pleased, Lily opened the mirror, changed the password, and ran off to find the rest.

She needn’t to, for they came bounding to her as she was running halfway across the corridor.

‘You owe me ten knuts Lily!’

‘Stupid witch!’

‘Some riddle…’

‘That nymph asked for ten knuts and you owe me them!’

‘She dropped her eye-stone on me!’

‘I hate rhyming buttercups!’

‘And you’ll pay for making me fall!’

‘My poor, poor foot…’

‘Stupid answer, too.’

‘Hey, I found mine. It isn’t exactly a passage, but it’ll do for a hideout. We can store anything we want in there! There’s even this whole supply of Quidditch stuff!!’

They stopped at once as three eager heads turned to Lily. She lead them to the mirror, and after checking that no one’s looking, she called out the new password: The Hogwarts Marauders. The mirror swung open, almost knocking Sirius in his eye, to reveal the entrance to the secret room. James, Sirius and Remus gasped at the room before them, eyeing everything.

‘Wow. It’ll be good to keep our things here. No one’ll ever suspect us in any other tricks,’ Remus snorted at this. Everyone knows that the Marauders were in almost every trick in Hogwarts.

‘Lily can keep her Prank Trunk here,’ James said, jumping excitedly as he inspected the little garden and moved on to the bookshelf.

‘Right. No worry of Filch finding it when he looked about in the Summer Holidays. Speaking of them, it’s almost time for exams,’ Lily said as a frown creased on her brows.

‘Hey, we’ll pull through. Anyway, I found the passage. It’s behind a rude, old hag of a one-eyed witch. The password’s "Dissendium",’ Remus said as they came out of the room, heading to the third floor where the witch stood. She glared at Remus angrily as James tapped her, saying Dissendium. Her hump opened and they climbed in, one at a time.

The passage, they found out, was cold and slimy. Lily found a slime in her pocket, when they climbed the what-seemed-to-be-five-hundred-steps before reaching a trapdoor. James, who was leading, pushed it open, only to find himself staring at boxes of sweets. He remembered what his father had told him about some passages. Most will lead to Hogsmeade, the wizard town. Trying to recall where this place might be, James climbed out as Lily came up, a disgusted look on her face as she threw the slime away. Remus and Sirius followed soon after.

‘We’re in Honeydukes!! Remus, you’d found a passage to Hogsmeade!’ James cried happily as he patted his friend on his back, causing him to cough loudly. Afraid of being found, Sirius ushered everyone back into the trapdoor and left, just as the store room door opened. They journeyed back to Hogwarts, coming out of the witch’s hump again.

Next, Sirius lead them to the library and introduced them to the nymph before calling the password to enter the passage. They lighted up their wands with Lumos as they staggered their way. The journey isn’t far, and very soon, they appeared behind Hagrid’s hut, very near to the Forbidden Forest. Finding themselves too tired to carry on to discover everything, they decided to return and check on James’ findings.

James lead them to the buttercups, who annoyingly gave them another puzzle to figure out. As their puzzles being ridiculously ridiculous, Sirius had taken the honor to answer them. Another slimy passage, leading them to a sewer tunnel (‘Eeew! I wonder what the founders were thinking when they made this!’ Lily said), right in front of Zonko’s Joke Shop. Taking the oppurtunity, the Marauders had filled their pockets with the latests: Drooling Drums, Creaking Croakroach Clusters, Lecturing Dolls and Jumping Jellies.

Having enough adventures for the day, they head back to the castle and keep the new tricks in their secret room, along with Lily’s Prank Trunk and some sweets (Sirius grabbed them from Honeydukes). Then, they proceed to study for their exams in their dorms.

Nina, Pertsy, Sita and Tally weren’t at all pleased with Lily when she came back. To tell the truth, the four had barely spoken two words to Lily and loathed her for playing all her tricks on them whenever she’s bored. Nina smirked as she told the others loudly that the Marauders had dumped Lily out of their company. Pertsy, Sita and Tally looked happy at this, but Lily proved otherwise by throwing an extra dungbomb at them, wearing a mask over her face before doing so and went to sleep as they coughed at the smell and cursed her angrily. Tally waved her wand at Lily, but unfortunately, Lily had used her wand as an experiment and had accidentally used the confundus charm on Tally’s cherry wood wand. The wand backfired, sending frogs and shellfishes everywhere as the other girls screeched loudly.

Lily calmly waved her wand and everything disappeared. Tally stared hard at her wand as Sita checked her bedsheet for spawns. Nina and Pertsy were in the corner when the shellfish tried to bite them and were crawling out now. Sita sat down to cry as she had a fear for frogs and the others comforted her. Stammering, they went up to Lily. Pertsy had decided to do the talking.

‘Uh, thanks, for getting rid of everything.’

‘Whatever.’

‘Why wouldn’t you speak to us?’

‘Why wouldn’t you?’

‘Uh…’

‘No reason, huh?’

‘Guess so.’

‘Lily, can you help me with my Charms? I mean, you and James were the best in our form and…’

‘Sure Sita.’

‘Umm… I’m sorta in trouble with Transfiguration…’

‘And Defense Against Dark Arts…’

‘And Astronomy…’

‘Taking chances, aren’t you?’

‘…’

‘Fine, I’ll help.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Why would you help us? I mean, we’d been kinda mean to you, you’d been mean back. We’re bossy, so did you to us and all. But you mixed with others well.’

Lily had sat up on her bed by now.

‘Lots of questions, hadn’t you? Well, the problem’s you.’

‘What me?’

‘Yeah, what’s with Nina?’

‘No. I mean all of you. You just wouldn’t want to try.’

‘Sorry.’

‘Whatever.’

‘The exams are next week, tomorrow in fact, so please help us with the last minute tips!’

‘I said fine, didn’t I?’

‘Oh. Yeah.’

‘Let’s see… Flitwick’ll give us some really easy tests, nothing to worry about.’

Sita whined.

‘McGonagall will probably ask you to transfigure a stove into a dog, so work on that Nina. You’re bad.’

Nina looked horrified. She was the worst in Transfiguration in Gryffindor house.

‘In DADA, I think Corn will give us a written test on Vampires or something like that.’

Pertsy nearly burst. Vampires weren’t her favorite part in DADA. It frightened her to learn about them and always had nightmares after that memorial lesson about the blood-sucking creatures.

‘About Astronomy, Sinistra’d probably send us to read the stars. Simple job.’

Tally looked relieved at this.

‘Miss Evans! Have you been looking at our records?’ McGonagall’s angry voice screeched loudly as the tight faced teacher walked into the dorm.

‘Minnie, I hadn’t been near the staff room!’

‘It’s Professor, Evans. And which professor could prove that? Anyone?’

‘Well, there’s bound to be a professor in the staff’s room, so ask that guy! I swear I didn’t go near the staff room!’

‘Come with me, Evans. You should have known better than that.’

‘Hey, slow it Minnie! Look, you can ask the boys. I’d been with them all day!’

‘Very well. I do not know how you had managed to get to know all the tests that are to be given tomorrow, but you had better be ready to receive a detention and fifty points off Gryffindor for telling a lie and for looking at the records,’ McGonagall’s severe face disppeared as her tip-tapping echoed to the opposite hallway. Her voice was heard again, ‘POTTER, BLACK, LUPIN! HAD YOU BEEN SNEAKING INTO THE STAFF ROOM?’ Lily could hear their answer. No. Of course, they had been with Lily almost the whole day, save the part when they look for the secret passages. Lily heard McGonagall storm down the steps, tripping over the trick stair and towards the staff room.

Tally, Sita, Nina and Pertsy looked at her in amazement.

‘Come to think of it, how did you know what our exams will be?’ Tally asked Lily, who was settling back on her bed. ‘Secret. But I didn’t go sneaking into the staff room, so don’t worry,’ Lily said dismissively. Her psychic powers and her ability as a Seer had told her everything, but why let everyone know?

‘Alright. I’ll be studying for DADA now, if I were you. We’re having hovering charms as our exam, Sita, so I suggest you practicing it now. And be ready for potions. Halley wants us to brew a Swelling Potion and a Shrinking one. Herbology will be about Roaching Roses and their uses and-’

The door burst open. Expecting it to be McGonagall, the four quickly opened their books and start reading them as three long shadows were casted over them instead of the expected one. Lily brightened up as they smirked at the other girls who looked at them, terrified. ‘Hey guys! I was just telling them what we’re having tomorrow!’ Lily called as they sat themselves on Lily’s bed. ‘Unfair! You didn’t tell us! By the way, Minnie came over a while ago about you being in the staff room,’ Remus said as he looked out the window.

‘Yeah. She thought I looked at the records for the exams, as I told these girls here what we’re taking,’ Lily said as she waved her hand to the four cowering girls. ‘Hey, we’re not gonna eat you okay? Maybe you should start treating Lily better. Heck, Dan and Thomas had even talked to us!’ Sirius called out to them. ‘Say, she even gave you the exams’ subjects! You should be really thankful. Even we don’t know about what will be coming out tomorrow!’ James said.

‘Thanks, big bro,’ Lily said as she rolled her eyes at the boys. They’d always been over-protective over her, for she’s the youngest of the four and she’s the only girl. ‘Good girl, now can you fill us with the details?’ Remus said as Lily repeated what will come out the next day.

‘Wow! Where’d you get those info?’ Sirius asked, awed, when Lily had finished.

‘Uh… sorry, but maybe I’d better keep it a secret. McGonagall can maybe ask Dumbledore to perform a spell on me to prevent me using it,’ Lily said, fidgeting uncomfortably. ‘Fine, whatever. But like we’d found out about Remus, we’ll do the same to you. You’re warned, Lily. G’night!’ Sirius said seriously as they ran out of the room. McGonagall entered soon after they left.

‘Evans? Sorry about just now, but Professor Sprout had been in the staff room the whole day, and saw no sign of you or Potter, Black or Lupin,’ McGonagall came in. Tally, Nina, Sita and Pertsy heaved a sigh of relief, glad that they weren’t receiving any detentions. Lily just shook it off and sent the elder woman out with a stink pellet on her tight bun, sending cries moments after the professor left the room. Lily grinned and went to bed as the remaining four girls tried to memorise everything about vampires and roaching roses.