The Marauders: The Legend Before Harry Potter

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The Marauders: The Legend Before Harry Potter

The First Year

Chapter Three

Around the Christmas Holidays

In Charms they had finished up with levitation and were now learning simple, useful spells that the first years could handle such as Diffindo and Mobilarbus. In Potions they seemed to do everyone but make Potions and Quirt's popularity plummeted more each day. Dumbledore was an excellent Transfiguration teacher and Mrs. Yen, even though she didn't explain anything to them, turned out to have a lot of experience with the Dark Arts.

The first Quidditch match of the year brought great anticipation and excitement, especially to the Gryffindors and Slytherins, as they were to be competing. Often James would notice the Gryffindor team members eyeing the Slytherin members, there eyes filled with hate and pure disgust. There were already bets being made on who would win. James didn't want to admit it, nor did Sirius or the other Gryffindors, but they seemed to have a very small chance of a victory. Slytherin team had been raved about, while the Gryffindor team had been said to have had poor practices, and a poor seeker. They also hadn't won the Quidditch Cup in ten years, and hope seemed as dim as ever.

It was one week into December and everyone, their gloves and hats on, wrapped in their winter coats, set out for the stands. It was a good thing the snow had finally subsided a week earlier, but the weather all the same was a frightful bitter cold.

Alfred Kingsley, a Gryffindor fifth year and Quidditch fanatic, was commentating (or he was trying, amidst shivers). "Welcome to this year's first Quidditch Match--Gryffindor verses Slytherin, and a...fine day it is for Quidditch indeed!" There was sarcasm in his voice. James, Sirius, and Peter took a seat in the lower stands with some other first years. Remus had gone that morning--apparently his mother had gotten an epidemic and was too weak to even notify the doctor so he had been granted permission to go help her.

"Here - comes - the - Gryffindor - team!" Alfred continued shivering. He called out all the players as they entered the Quidditch pitch: Mildred, the Keeper, Edmond Gray, a serious looking captain who was in his seventh year, Kurt Warren and Miles Fatolitis the beaters, followed lastly by Greg Rogers the skinny little seeker. Cheers erupted from the stands.

"Would you look at their faces? They know they have no chance of winning!" came a cold voice from behind James. Sirius, who could smell a Slytherin from miles away, furrowed his brow before turning around to face all the Slytherin boys in first year. There were five Slytherin boys, all of them more spiteful than the next. Behind Sirius sat Evan Rosier, sharp faced with long red hair and a huge mole on the side of his nose; to his right sat Donovan Wilkes, a plump boy with curly hair and an abnormally large gap between his teeth. Behind James was Lucifer Avery and Rodolphos Lestrange, both slouching and smiling wickedly. In the middle of them sat, arms crossed and looking very calm (and very pale), Severus Snape, his long greasy hair slicked back behind his ears, a widows peak coming down over half his forehead. Snape seemed to be begging for a fight, but with four of his friends around him, and the Slytherin prefect, Rookword, behind him, the Gryffindor boys would have to do their retaliation in soft whispers.

"What was that, Snape?" Sirius asked, teeth bared. "Trying to cover up for your shame of being put in Slytherin?" Snape and Avery sniggered.

"I wouldn't be talking...what's your name?" Snape said, his nostrils flared. "Ah, yes, Sirius..."

"Gryffindors have a better chance to win than Slytherins!" came the squeaky voice of Peter. Everyone, including Sirius and James, looked at the littler boy in shock. The little boy cowered with fear at the penetrating looks the five Slytherins gave him. Peter looked over at James and Sirius for support. Sirius and James exchanged glances and hid their smiles. They had been planning for several days a good prank to play on the Slytherins.

"What on earth is that!" James exclaimed, pointing at something behind the Slytherins. All five of them, stupidly, turned to see what James was pointing to. In a flash, Sirius pulled out his wand and muttered a little spell he'd learned from Andromeda. When the Slytherin boys saw nothing but people behind them, they turned around, and so did Sirius, James, and Peter, looking innocent. The Slytherin boys, as they watched the game with content, didn't know that beneath the folds of their robes their shoelaces were all tied together in one enormous knot.

The Gryffindors didn't keep their ecstatic cheers and hope of a victory for long; they were trampled without mercy by the Slytherin team. Holding their head in shame as the scoreboard flashed "Slytherin: 180, Gryffindor: 20", the Gryffindor team walked off the field after the game. The defeat gave James all the more reason to be excited for the upcoming year. They'll surely win when I join the team, he thought to himself as he, Sirius, and Peter got up to leave. All of the Gryffindors got a good laugh when Snape and his four friends went toppling over, falling all over each other and cursing, as they stood up at once.

***

Mid-December approached and students began signing up to stay at Hogwarts for the Holidays. Peter was still more than willing to have the other three boys and Lily visit his home for Christmas. "It'll be grand!" he insisted.

So for the Christmas holidays, Sirius, James, Peter, and Lily set out together to the Pettigrews' house in Northern England. Remus wasn't able to come, unfortunately; his mother wanted him back at home for reasons Remus never explained. He assured them, however, that he'd much rather be with them than at his home, but that he didn't want his mum to be alone.

Peters' house was a very old two-story stone building on a large, un-kept estate, just outside of York. It was charming all the same, what with its red and silver window shutters and a weed garden to accentuate a display of small, four-wheeled bicycles that Peter tried to ignore, despite the fact that Sirius was very keen whom they belonged to.

Everyone got a chance to meet Peters' aunt, grandmum, great-great uncle, four cousins, and a wild young step-sister. Though they talked and gossiped for several hours when the boys and Lily arrived, they departed to their own home in London the first evening. Peters'mother, Wileen, was a short, squat woman with very rosy cheeks and curly brown hair. She had baked everyone green, red, and white cookies before they arrived and she welcomed them each with a warm hug. Peters' dad, Christopher, who worked at Diagon Alley was a thin man without a string of hair left on his shiny head, who always smoked the "finest cigars in the country", as he would always say.

"You have such a nice family, Sirius," Lily told him once they had all been introduced.

"Yeah, I'm so glad that my mum's such a great cook!" was Peters' reply as he groped in the kitchen for a platter of sausage. "Here, I'll show you the rooms." Each of them got their own rooms--the entire second story was for guests, as they had family visit so often--Sirius and James sharing a bathroom, Lily on the opposite hall, while Peter stayed in his room down the stairs.

"Well, this is cozy," Sirius said jokingly when he entered his room with brown walls and pink furniture and carpet, setting his four suitcases down at his feet.

"Don't you think so? This is my favorite room!" exclaimed Peter.

James wrote a letter that night to his parents when he was alone, ashamed he had forgotten to get them presents; a letter also arrived the next day from them. His father had sent him a subscription to the Daily Prophet ("Oh, splendid dad, just what I've always wanted...") and his mother had been thoughtful enough to purchase him two new scarlet-ink producing quills and twenty chocolate frogs to share. The letter read:

'Our darling James,

We miss you terribly, but think it's wonderful that you've already made such great friends that would invite you to stay over Christmas. We hope you thank Mrs. Pettigrew for keeping you. We're sure you're having a lovely Christmas. We hope the weather up North is just as wonderful as it is here at home. When you get back to Hogwarts make sure you spend more time studying for the exams than fooling around! Be sure to keep us posted on everything exciting happening in your life. See you in June, which seems like an eternity to us, though you're having a blast for sure. Say hello to all your new friends and your Professors for us!

Much love,

Mum and Dad'

The Pettigrew's spoiled them everyday with the wonderful meals prepared. After just two days James felt like he had eaten his usual weekly-intake, and though Peter was far from thin, he admired him for not being the size of a blimp.

The day of Christmas came and when James awoke he found everyone else already downstairs in the Black living room, opening their gifts. "Merry Christmas James!" Lily said running up to him and giving him a tight hug, then handing him a present. James opened it and it turned out to be a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages. "I got Remus a copy too, I hope you don't have it already." James shook his head.

"Thanks Lily," he said. He felt stupid that he hadn't got anyone a present when he suddenly remembered something. He dashed back up to his room and grabbed the fifteen of the twenty chocolate frogs from his parents and gave five of them to Lily.

Peter gave him a brown-feathered writing quill. "It doesn't take any ink, isn't that nifty?" "Nifty," James said sarcastically. He gave him five chocolate frogs in return. "Oh goodie, thanks James," Peter exclaimed as though he had never seen a present so wonderful.

Sirius gave him a pack of quill ink of all colors. "Not just any ink though...some become invisible, and only appear when you command it to."

"Wow, thanks Sirius," James said, feeling even worse about his sad little gift of five chocolate frogs. "Sorry, I didn't have time to get you anything."

"No problem mate, as long as you share the ink with me." He winked at James.

Late that afternoon they had a grand meal as lunch and dinner combined (or a "linner" as Peter called it) of turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and a scrumptious pudding, followed by a flaming pie to end it.

The rest of the holiday flew by, but each day was still filled with delicious food, and each night found them sneaking through the house, Peter showing them all the secret compartments and passageways he had come upon, most of them holding his dads valuable pipes.

When the Christmas holidays had ended and Mrs. Pettigrews had given them each a hug, and the Mister had patted them each on the head, blowing smoke from his pipe in their faces, they returned to Hogwarts, all of them completely ready to return.

"I can't believe the year's almost halfway over!" Sirius whispered. "And I've only found one secret passageway! Andromeda will never let me live this down."

***

"I hate Slytherins!" Sirius exclaimed running into the Common Room one night, panting and red-faced. A few of the Gryffindors turned to look at him.

"Don't we all?" said one girl sitting in the corner reading.

"What happened Sirius?" Peter asked, looking concerned. Sirius came in further, breathing heavily, his hands crossed.

"Well, I was walking back here from the Library when I saw one of the Slytherin boys on his hands and knees, picking up some books that had dropped. It was that really ugly boy with the greasy hair--Snape, or something--and I asked him what had happened when suddenly McGonagall came around the corner and that bloody git said 'Professor, this Gryffindor made my bag split!' Well, next thing I know, that idiot Professor said 'Sirius, how rude of you. Ten points from Gryffindor!' I tried to argue but that Snape fellow had already gone."

"That always happens," said one older Gryffindor. "The Slytherins always get by, they're perfect liars. Lying is how they survive in life, so you better get used to it."

It did seem that they would have to get used to it, for Madam Hooch had agreed with Dumbledore, reluctantly, to give the Gryffindors and Slytherins another chance at flying lessons. So when the snow was thin, but the weather was still bitter, the two houses met out on the Quidditch field with Madam Hooch. The instructor was not taking any misbehaving this time, and her usual flat smile was closer to a frown.

"All right everyone, welcome back. I want you all to be on your best behavior, or none of you will get your chance to learn how to fly. Now, let us begin where we were. Stand to the left of our broomstick, hold your right hand over the broom, say 'Up!'". Everyone did as they were told, and everyone's broom responded for everyone, including Peter, was too cold to feel nervous this time.

"We don't need to learn this, we already know how to fly," said the ugly Slytherin girl. "Madam Hooch, can't the Slytherins go inside while you teach the Gryffindor's how to command their broom the right way? They're not ready to learn how to fly."

"Maybe you should learn how to squint less while you talk," said Ezmerelda Bottle. "We Gryffindors are better than you'll ever be!"

"Maybe you should learn how to brush your hair before you go out in public," said the Slytherin, eyeing Ezmerelda's wild man of ebony hair with repulsion. The Gryffindor rolled her eyes, apparently not caring.

"You two--watch it!" Hooch said, shaking her finger, her patience fading. But the Slytherin girl didn't stop.

"You Gryffindor's are pathetic. Stuck up and stupid."

"Stuck up?" said Sirius this time. "Turn your finger around Miss Surrut. You're the most stuck-up, and disgustingly hideous creature I've ever laid eyes on."

"Leave her alone," said the Lestrange boy.

"I'll leave her alone alright, all two hundred pounds of her."

"Uhggh!" said the girl, eying Sirius with disgust. "How dare you!"

"How dare I what? I was simply being honest."

"Everyone stop!" Lily said. "This is so stupid."

"Maybe you should go cry about it," said another Slytherin boy to Lily. "Maybe that would help your ugly eyes."

"Maybe you should close your mouth," James snapped. "All of you! Lily's eyes are nicer than yours'll ever be. All you want is attention, and you're not getting any. With each passing minute you make yourselves look stupider and uglier--if that's possible."

"Slytherin's are the least stupid people at this school," bickered Snape. "They last longer than anyone. Gryffindors are nothing but foolish mudbl--"

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Madam Hooch so loudly she probably woke the babies in Africa. "EVERYONE BE QUIET! This is an outrage. This is the worst rivalry ever in the History of Hogwarts and it won't last. Oh, no it won't. All of you that said even a word have detention, a Gryffindor with a Slytherin. You'll be together until you get along. And if you don't, those of you wishing to be on the Quidditch teams can kiss that dream goodbye."

***

"Why do I have to be with Snape?" James shouted aloud after they had gotten their detentions. "And what's worse, we have to clean the floors of the dungeons for Ogg."

"I have to clean the Great Hall after dinner tomorrow with that git Avery. Scrub floors, clean tables, clean plates and everything," Sirius complained. "I mean, can't the bloody house elves do that!"
"Ezmerelda and I have to held McGonagall grade papers," Lily said, shrugging. "It's not as bad as what you two have to do though, since there won't be any Slytherins."

"You shouldn't be getting any punishment Lily," James said in what he hoped was a sympathetic voice. "You didn't do anything except try to stop the arguments."

"Well, it didn't help. Thanks for sticking up for me though, James. I know my eyes aren't very pretty, but thanks all the same." She smiled, her gorgeous eyes twinkling.

"Your eyes are slightly pretty," James said unaware that he was flirting. Slightly? He thought. Why did I say that? He continued. "I mean...they're a little bit bright and abnormal, but nice all the same."

"Oh...thanks, James," she added, frowning. James watched her exit to the dormitories, a feeling of idiocy in his stomach.

"Wow, some charmer you are, eh, James?" came the sarcastic voice of Sirius. James bit his lip, flushing pink.

***

It was hard for James to force himself to smile the next day when he knew what awaited him at four o'clock and when the time came he walked very slowly to the dungeons, dragging his feet. There Snape was waiting for him, a mop in his right hand and a broom in his left.

"Here, Ogg wants you to mop," he said, dropping the mop with a Clang! before James could catch it.

"Thanks," James said coldly, beginning to mop the dusty and mud-covered floors. For a long while both of them said nothing until Snape said, "are you going to try out for the Quidditch team next year?"

"Are you trying to make conversation with me or something?" James asked.

"No, I was just going to say that I think you'd make a rotten player, not that I care since you are a Gryffindor."

"Think you could do any better with that fat arse of yours, do you?" James said. Snape remained quiet, and James continued to clean, a smug look on his face as the Slytherin could not retaliate. The deafening silence went on until Ogg finally came down the steps around seven thirty and told them they could go back to their dormitories. The two left quickly in opposite directions not uttering a word, both of them with sore backs and necks.

Meanwhile, Sirius had stayed in the Great Hall after all the other students and teachers had left. The Slytherin boy, Avery, was a short, thing boy with gray hair and gray eyes, and a face looking very dull and morose.

"So what do we have to do?" he asked in his monotonous voice.

"How should I know?" Sirius asked, but just as he said this the Great Hall's doors opened and a tiny little house elf walked in, the top of its head barely visible over the tables. The elf came up to them, smiling.

"Hello," it said in a squeaky voice. It looked very bashful indeed; it had obviously never come into the Great Hall when students were around. "I is supposing you are here because you were naughty people and got in trouble. We is getting people to help out a lot this year--it is quite nice to us house elves, it is. Now, I is supposed to tell you to please take the plates to the back washroom and clean them, then put them on the rack. After that I is hoping you will please fold the table clothes, clean silverware, sweep, and then you will finished."

Instead of having a nighttime of bickering and arguing the cleaning with Avery was extremely dull. The Slytherin boy wouldn't stop complaining. As they took the hundreds of dishes to a bathroom in the back that had a large marble sink all Avery would say over and over was, "this is stupid...this is boring...I hate cleaning...what's the point of this?" As they folded the table cloths he moaned and groaned once more.

"I'm bored..." he said.

"Boredom is a state of mind. Only boring people get bored," said Sirius huffily as he scooped up a handful of dirty forks and knives.

"I'm not boring..."Avery said, his mouth hanging open as if he were sleeping with open eyes. "This is just stupid, and boring. I hate doing this stuff." Sirius groaned, wishing the boy would come up with a synonym for 'boring'.

***

"This is boring, this is stupid, yadda yadda yadda. Blah, blah, blah! That's all I heard for three hours," Sirius said up in the Common Room that night.

"Well I'm convinced that Snape is a jealous jerk," James said. "'Are you going to join the Quidditch team, cause you'd be bad at it.' Hmph! As if he could even fly ten feet without falling off his broomstick..."

"Gee, it doesn't sound like you guys had much fun," Peter said, bouncing in his seat. "I'm glad I can hold my tongue."

"Me too," Remus said who had his nose in a book.

"Some day you guys won't," Sirius said. "You'll learn how to speak your mind. Now, I'm going to sleep, pray I won't have a boring dream."

***

The homework began to pile up on them, and the classes were becoming harder. Each night they would study by the fire and help each other on their assignments.

"You think first year's hard!" said one boy wiping sweat from his brow. "Wait till you get into fifth year, it's a bloody nightmare!"

The third Quidditch game was held and it turned out the two teams that would be competing for the championship Cup were Slytherin and Ravenclaw.

"Well, looks like there's nothing else to look forward to now that Gryffindor's out of the running," Remus said glumly as they walked to a Transfiguration class.

"There's always something to look forward to as long as Ravenclaw beats Slytherin," Sirius said. They had much hope in their hears for this, for the Ravenclaw had an exceptional team this year, hopefully much better than the Slytherins.

Sirius, who had been going down with James to The Three Broomsticks almost every week, was losing lots of sleep without realizing it and was beginning to get sick and pale. Remus could not be found near the end of January anywhere in the castle. He had simply disappeared one morning and not returned till the next afternoon. When Peter asked him where he had been he said 'Have you seen my wand?' as if he hadn't heard a word Peter had said.

In February, one nightfall, James took Remus and Lily to meet Hagrid. They both found him very funny, especially Lily, but neither of them wanted to touch the food he had prepared.

"Evans, eh?" Hagrid said when he had heard Lily's name. "Don' think I ever remember an Evans while I've been 'ere."

"That's cause my parents are muggles," Lily said, taking a crumpet from Hagrid, frowning slightly.

"Muggles, eh? That's good. I think it's good to have wizards and witches of all types 'ere at Hogwarts, though I'm sure some wouldn' agree...like those Slytherins. And you, Remus, who're your parents now?"

"Alyssa Lupin is my mother," he said.

"Alyssa! Well, I remember her, a Hufflepuff was she?"

"Ravenclaw."

"Right. She was a pretty young thing I recall..." Hagrid blushed a little, trying to hide his face from them. Remus didn't notice, he simply stared out the window gazing out at the Hogwarts grounds, his amber eyes full of a mysterious melancholy.

The days trudged on by and Herbology kept getting canceled from snow so Professor Sprout would give them little facts if she passed anybody in the halls. McGonagall was the worst now. She gave them extra quizzes if they did badly on oral questions and half the load of homework they received was from her. Each night in the Common Room no one would talk for fear of wasting study time. Mrs. Yen gave only a small amount of homework and the students liked her above all; however, she did grow queerer and queerer as the days progressed.

Sirius decided it was best if he stopped visiting The Three Broomsticks since the novelty for the year had worn off after the girl had told him her name was 'Rosmerta'.

James and Sirius did have there bit of fun every once and a while. They barely got away with setting a dung bomb in McGonagall's classroom one morning after the Professor had given them an essay to do, and they had a good laugh about it afterwards. Nearly Headless Nick appeared every once in a while to talk to the Gryffindors and give them advice on the proper ways to die. Then Peeves came along now and then and caused a nuisance. James hadn't even seen the much-talked-about, infamous Peeves until mid-February but when he saw him slopping buckets of mud in the halls. When Ogg came in and saw the mud he immediately blamed James, being the only one around, and made him clean up the mess and Peeves who had been hiding until Ogg had had left, burst from the shadowy corner, and cried:

"Oh deary, so dreary

Your life may seem

But if you tell Oggy

I'm liable to screeeeeeeam!"

Then he went howling away in laughter.

"Blasted Peeves," James muttered.