Musical Notes

CHAPTER 4

Tuesday, October 19

The silence following Sirius' unexpected "request" was so heavy, it seemed to weigh down upon the circular room until it was almost unbearable. Sirius, wanting to convince himself that he hadn't just sung, opened his mouth hesitantly. In a banshee-like voice, he screeched, "OOPS I DID IT AGAIN!" His voice had taken on an annoying, whining ring. Sirius' jaw dropped and appeared to be dragging on the floor as he stared at James, horrified at his own altered voice. The only movement in the room was the lump on the floor incarcerated in the velvet curtains. Finally, Peter tumbled awkwardly out of his curtains. He seemed quite relieved that no one had noticed his slight blunder. He was proud that he was the only person who seemed able to speak normally, so he broke the silence.

"What happened?" Peter looked around the room. Neither Sirius nor James was able to utter words capable of being understood by intelligent human beings, so they just gawked at Peter. Remus looked at James, then turned his face toward Sirius as he opened his mouth to reply.

"WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO AND MAKE THINGS SO COMPLICATED?!" Remus began in a girlish voice before clamping his mouth shut. He too seemed to have lost the ability to vocalize his thoughts normally; he could now only sing them. Remus and Sirius exchanged looks of horror.

James whispered, looking back and forth between Remus and Sirius. "The curse backfired on you?"

Abruptly, Remus shot out of his bed and sprinted to his bookbag. He fumbled with the latch for a moment before he pulled out a blank roll of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. He brought these items to his bedside table, where he unrolled the parchment, dipped the quill in the ink, and started scrawling out a note. The three other Marauders gathered around Remus so that they would be able to read his note.

The hastily scribbled note read, "Yes, James, apparently the curse did backfire. I'm guessing Evans put some sort of Shielding Charm around herself that causes a curse to attack the person who cast it. She must have been expecting us to do something like this."

James gaped at the note. Sirius snatched the parchment and wrote his own note underneath Remus'.

"She needs professional help if she's really that paranoid."

Remus smirked as he looked over Sirius' response and stole the quill out of Sirius' hand to write a new note.

"You're just angry because she knew that we were going to do something. She was right, and you misjudged her."

Sirius read the note as fast as he could. His face was red as he gave Remus a look that would have said, "Shove it," if looks could speak.

Peter broke up the argument before it could escalate further by saying, "But what are we going to do?" He looked around at his friends, and, seeing that he had their attention, went on, "We can't let the teachers find out about the prank, but what if they call on them during class?" Peter indicated the singing duo. "We would all get in trouble."

Everyone considered this question for a minute. Suddenly, Sirius' expression brightened and he looked surprisingly excited. He bent over the parchment again, and the quill began wiggling back and forth as he wrote out a new message. The others leaned over to read the note.

"What about that potions you made when we were practicing the Cantorecio Curse, Remus? We could drink that, and nobody would ever know that anything happened!"

As Remus finished scanning the message, he shook his head sadly and grabbed the parchment.

"That potion takes two days to brew, and we finished the cauldron of it last Saturday."

Sirius' smile faded instantly as he read this.

James spoke, ending the silent conversation, "We're just going to have to come up with some excuse that explains why you all aren't talking." Then he glanced at the clock and added, "Come on, classes start soon. We'd better get dressed. We've got that exam in Care of Magical Creatures class." The boys pulled on their robes slowly, not wanting to face their teachers. They had had enough experience at Hogwarts to know that when they least wanted to be called upon, the teachers would ask them to speak.

After dressing, the boys trudged silently to the Great Hall. When they had slouched down onto the wooden bench, Remus and Sirius began to cram mounds of food into their mouths. The advantage of their "Chipmunk Cheek" tactic was that they had a legitimate excuse not to talk to anyone. The disadvantage was, first, having the Slytherins point and laugh at their undignified behavior, and second, looking like, well, chipmunks. Though Sirius could tolerate looking like a chipmunk, he couldn't tolerate the Slytherins' jeering. It took a kick in the shin by Remus and a warning glare from James to make Sirius put his wand away. Sirius shoved his wand back in his pocket, but he continued to peer at the Slytherins while imagining each one as a different type of rodent...

Soon, it was time to leave the Great Hall and schlep their books to the classroom used whenever the Care of Magical Creatures professor, Professor Rabble, gave his students a written exam.

As Professor Rabble was handing out the tests, an a overworked Hufflepuff girl by the name of Pregunte Arodnap asked exasperatedly, "Why do we have to take these written exams?"

The professor turned magenta. He began muttering incoherently, though the Marauders did manage to hear the words "Ministry standards" among the rest of the rubbish. After a minute of babbling, Professor Rabble took ten points from Hufflepuff, warned the class that they shouldn't question authority, and ordered them to begin the test.

Though the Marauders normally despised it when Professor Rabble forced them to take useless written tests, it turned out to be a blessing for that particular day. Sirius and Remus would have no reason to talk while they answered questions about Knarls and Kneazles. The four boys could relax for at least one class that day.

"That wasn't too bad," James sighed as the class exited the classroom. Remus and Sirius nodded fervently in agreement. Peter, however, looked slightly concerned.

"Hey, Remus, what did you say for that question about the Kneazle's special ability?" Peter looked up at Remus, who sent him a threatening look and shook his head warningly. Peter got the hint a few moments later. "Oh! I-- I was just testing you, to make sure you didn't say anything." The other boys didn't take too much notice of Peter; they appeared to be preparing themselves for their next class: Defense Against the Dark Arts.

This class was likely to be more difficult for Remus and Sirius than the previous lesson had been. The instructor, Professor Lego, was constantly attempting to make every student participate in the class discussions, especially those students whom he knew were quite bright but who would never volunteer to answer a question. Unfortunately, Sirius was one of the Gryffindors who fell into this category. On top of this, Remus was one of the few people who actually did raise his hand to answer questions. Professor Lego was bound to find it suspicious that Remus wasn't offering answers. It was because of these troubling facts that the friends entered his class feeling nervous and jumpy.

As soon as the entire class had assembled, Professor Lego began the day's lesson. "Good morning students," he said calmly, setting aside a book about basic defense skills entitled "Dingbat's Dictionary of Defense Spells for Dummies." Professor Lego continued, "Would you please take out your homework and your textbooks, then turn to page one hundred and forty-three?" He stood quietly for a moment as the students shifted in their seats and retrieved their materials. James snuck a sidelong glance at Remus and Sirius as he bent over his bookbag; Remus' face was ghostly pale, and Sirius appeared to have lockjaw.

"All right then," Professor Leg continued once most of the class had settled back into their seats, "question one: If you were trying to get through a wall in order to escape from a pursuing attacker, what spell would you use and why?" He peered around the classroom. His eyes rested for a moment on Remus, but decided not to call on him; the poor lad looked like he would be sick if he had to open his mouth. The professor glanced instead to Remus' right. "Mr. Pettigrew, please read your answer to the class."

Peter's chubby face flushed as he looked at his one-word answer. "Uh, Alohomora?" he suggested reluctantly.

Professor Lego looked disappointed. "No, I'm afraid that's not correct." He then decided to resort to his other method of picking students to answer questions. "Mr. Black, please read us your answer."

Sirius' jaw tightened even more and the color in his face seemed to drip away, down his neck and onto his shoulders. He looked at James; he could almost see James' brain working furiously to think of any excuse. Sirius looked back at the professor, who was watching Sirius expectantly. "This is it," he though miserably.

Suddenly, James had an idea. "Sir?" he said, waving his hand in the air. "Sirius isn't talking today. Neither is Remus. They're having a silent strike." Sirius and Remus jerked their heads around to stare at their friend. Peter turned all the way around in his seat to give James a questioning look. James, however, continued to look completely unperturbed.

Professor Lego raised his thick eyebrows in surprise. "They're on a strike? For what?" He asked skeptically as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"They're fighting for equal rights for goblins."

If it had been possible, the size of Remus' and Sirius' eyes would have increased to ten times their normal size. Goblin rights?

The professor raised one eyebrow even higher and said suspiciously, "Equal rights for goblins?"

"Yes," James replied. "That's why they're not speaking. Didn't you see the article about it in the Quibbler?"

Professor Lego appeared thoroughly nonplussed. Why would anyone advocate for goblin rights? But yet, he couldn't say that they were lying. He never read the Quibbler. He was stuck. "All right, but I'm taking ten points from Gryffindor for getting the class off topic." The professor turned away from the goblin rights activists and asked another student to answer the same question. The class soon was back on task, and the lesson proceeded smoothly. However, once Professor Lego had turned his attention elsewhere, Sirius turned over the parchment on which his homework had been written and scribbled a note to James.

-Prongs, have you been sniffing Peter's powdered dragon claw lately? Have you lost your mind?!

-Hey, I saved you, so don't complain!

-I'm grateful Prongs, even if Padfoot isn't. I just have one question: Why goblins? Why not werewolves?

-Sorry Moony, but goblins were the first creatures that come to my mind.

-Goblins are rotten cheats. Some goblins I met at a Quidditch match cheated me out of TEN galleons that I had won in a bet. Thieving little snot-roggens.

-Aren't you a bit young to be gambling, Padfoot?

-Shut it Moony. Unless, of course, you'd like to sing "Werewolves of London" in front of the class.

At this point, Professor Lego was giving a reading assignment to the students, and Remus refused to write any more notes to his friends for fear that he would miss something important in the reading. Sirius and James then began playing Hangman on scrap bits of parchment. Peter, who needed more help with his lessons than the other Marauders, was the only one of the friends who had listened to the class discussion about the homework.

The boys gathered their belongings and joined the crowd walking to the Great Hall the minute the bell rang. Sirius was in an extraordinarily bad mood; he had lost twenty-five games of Hangman to James, and he wasn't even able to tell James (in approximately four letters) what he thought of him at the moment.

Sirius slumped down onto his seat on the bench and stabbed rather viciously at a nearby baked potato, causing it to split in half. Remus and James grinned, while Sirius shot a deadly glare at James as though it had been his fault that the potato had split.

"How can you control a wand if you can't even control your silverware?" sneered a silky smooth voice from behind the Marauders. Peter let out a frightened squeak and fell off the bench while Sirius, James, and Remus swiveled around in their seats to face a wall of thick, black grease.

"Snivellus, don't you have something better to do? Like, torturing innocent cats?" James spat at Snape. "And for God's sake, go wash your hair, you greaseball," James finished, turning away in revulsion.

Snape appeared dumbstruck for a moment, but it was short-lived. "So Black, you're too scared to even stick up for yourself now? You're letting your friends do it for you. I suppose you're used to not sticking up for yourself. I mean, it would take more courage than you have to stand up to your family. Speaking of which, how's your good little brother? And has your dear mummy kicked you out of the house yet?" Snape finished coldly.

The pressure of the day had sawed through Sirius' limited patience until there was nothing left but fury and disgust. He leapt out of his seat as he bellowed and sang, "KILL THE BEAST! KILL THE BEAST!" His wand was out and pointing between Snape's wide eyes.

Everyone in the Great Hall shifted around on the benches to watch Sirius. In the time that it took for everyone in the Hall to focus their attention on Sirius, he changed tunes and was singing to Snape, "ONE WAY, OR ANOTHER, I'M GONNA FIND YOU! I'M GONNA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA!" while waving his wand around in frustration. It seemed that, in his current condition, he couldn't put a curse on Snape. Professor McGonagall was hurrying over to the boys, wearing a deadly expression, as Sirius's voice reached a deafening pitch.

"KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU! WE'LL JUST HAVE TO FACE IT THIS TIME WE'RE THROUGH!" Remus sang shrilly, gesturing towards the approaching form of Professor McGonagall. Sirius had shut his mouth for a moment when he realized that he was no longer singing a solo, and he spun around to see the professor halt in front of the table.

"What is going on here?!" Professor McGonagall roared at the Marauders and Snape. "Well?!"

Instead of waiting for their separate turns to speak, the offenders all tried to explain the situation at the same time. The result was a horrible racket comprised of shouts screams, melodies, and curses.

"Never mind! Never mind!" Professor McGonagall struggled to make herself heard above the din. She had her hands pressed tightly over her ears. "You will all report to my office immediately to explain yourselves and so I can arrange your detentions. Yes, you too Mr. Snape. And you Pettigrew; I know that whatever Potter, Lupin, and Black are involved in you aren't far behind. Follow me now."

* * *

"What time is it?" Peter asked sleepily as the group entered their dormitory later that night.

Remus yawned widely, making his response almost unintelligible. "Midnight, Peter." He and Sirius had been cured of the effects of the Cantorecio Curse by Madam Pomfrey. As it turned out, there was an easy-to-make potion that removed any spells affecting a person's speech. Madam Pomfrey had treated the two afflicted boys to a long lecture about speech-altering curses while she flitted about the room, collecting ingredients for the potion. She had even told them some stories of a few other speechless students who she had cured by using her potion, including a girl who had been cursed to have a cat firmly attached to her tongue. At this, Sirius had grinned wickedly and gotten the look on his face that he always wore whenever he came up with a new prank. Luckily, Remus had seen the glint in his eyes and he, Remus, had shaken his head at Sirius before the prank could fully form. Soon afterwards, Madam Pomfrey had completed the potion, and the boys had returned to the common room fully cured.

James complained loudly as he sat down heavily on his bed, "I'm never going to get the smell of soap off my hands." The Marauders and Snape had been forced to hand wash all of the dirty kitchenware for their detentions. This first detention wasn't as terrible for the Marauders as it might have been if it hadn't been for a rather lucky occurrence. When McGonagall had left the kitchen for a moment to see what Peeves was doing with a missing bag of sugar, Sirius had taken the chance to avenge his recently insulted pride by punching Snape in the eye. When McGonagall returned, Sirius explained that Snape was unconscious because he had slipped on a bar of soap. With Snape out of the way, the punishment had seemed relatively minor. Except that they had to repeat it every night for a week and a half.

Sirius threw himself onto his four poster bed and said, "I guess I've learned my lesson."

"Good for you, Padfoot," Remus complimented in an off-hand way as he took off his watch.

Sirius continued, "I will never try to curse Evans at night again."

"No, you certainly won't," said James sharply. "Not once she decides to go out with me," he declared pompously.

Sirius, who appeared not to have heard James, finished his vow: "I'll wait and curse her in the morning, when she's not sporting a stupid Shielding Charm."