“Well this is interesting,” said James conversationally. Lily, behind him, laughed, half in exasperation. “Definitely not how I saw the night ending,” he continued.
They were bound on opposite sides of a suit of armor, sitting back-to-back with the empty knight in between them. “How did this even happen?” Lily asked, gritting her teeth as she tried to stretch her hand to her pocket, where her wand was. “One second we were walking, the next we’re tied up. It happened so fast.”
“Yeah,” James said interestedly. “It must have been some sort of magical snare, and we set it off…that would be really tricky though, to make sure it worked right. And it’s kind of a lot of effort to go through for just a casual prank…maybe someone was waiting for us specifically?”
“Oh, great,” grunted Lily, her fingers closing unhelpfully around air. “That’s not creepy at all.”
“And it’s kind of lame,” James added. “What is the point of tying us up outside of the common room? It’s a little embarrassing, sure, but…”
“But if a teacher walks in the morning, or comes patrolling through now, we’ll be caught out after hours,” Lily pointed out, her voice rising slightly. “And, as you seem to keep forgetting, we’re Head Boy and Girl! We could actually, get in a lot of trouble if the wrong person finds us!”
James craned his neck. He couldn’t quite see her around the armor, but if he stretched his arm back as far as he could, their fingertips brushed. “Yeah,” he said, “but I don’t know. I kind of think it’s worth it.”
“Well,” she said, softening, “yeah. It was.” There was a pause, and then she asked, “But are you sure you can’t reach your wand?”
James burst out laughing as Lily shushed him frantically. “Hold on a second,” he said, contorting, “maybe I can…almost…nope, no, sorry, can’t reach it, I’m at the wrong angle.”
Lily sighed. “Me, too. So now what do we do then?”
“Wiggle?” James suggested. “Merlin, I don’t usually wish I was Wormtail, but right now I kind of do…”
“Peter?” Lily asked, surprised. “What does he have to do with this?”
“Oh, you know,” James said. “He could just turn into a rat and slip right out. I’ve got the stag thing, which is nice, but really not a lot of help here.”
“True,” Lily sighed, leaning her head back. “So, another random prank this year that wasn’t you and Sirius.”
“I know!” James said indignantly. “We’re going to have to do something soon, or we’re going to look like idiots…”
“Sirius is going to have a field day,” Lily said glumly. “He’s still totally convinced that it’s those two Ravenclaws pulling all these pranks, but there’s no way, they wouldn’t know that we were going out tonight, or care if they did. Except for Mary, nobody knew we were””
She stopped suddenly. “What?” James asked, after a minute.
“Um,” Lily said, almost guiltily. “Well. There’s a chance that Leda might have known. I thought she overhead me and Mary talking about it, but I wasn’t sure.”
“No way,” James said emphatically. “I honestly don’t think Leda could pull something off. It’s just not her style.”
“True,” Lily said, “but maybe”” she stopped, sucking in her breath sharply, and James felt her fingers scrabbling for his. “What is that?”
“What?” he hissed back, craning his neck again.
A few feet away, a piece of shadow detached itself from the wall and slunk towards them. James started to laugh. “Oh,” he said, “that’s just Sirius.”
Behind him, he heard Lily let out her breath as the black dog padded across to them, tail wagging. Sirius snapped playfully at James’s ear, then turned towards Lily, his tail hitting James upside the head.
On the other side of the suit of armor, Lily giggled as the dog licked her cheek. “Stop licking me, you goof,” she said.
“Hey!” James objected, twisting as far around as he could. “Get your own!”
There was a slight shift in the air as Sirius turned back into himself. “So,” he said calmly. “What’s up with you guys?”
“Can you get us out first?” James panted.
Sirius stretched his arms over his head luxuriously. “I don’t know,” he said. “This is kind of an interesting situation, isn’t it?”
“Do it, Padfoot,” James growled. “Or I’ll…dig up something about you and spread it around the whole school, I swear.”
“Oh,” Lily said vaguely. “I’ll just tell Mary you want to go on another date with her.”
“Okay!” Sirius said hastily reaching for his wand. “Let’s go!”
A few minutes later, they all tumbled into the mercifully empty common room. “So was that part of the date gone wrong, or what?” Sirius asked as soon as they’d folded themselves into armchairs in front of the fire.
James snorted. “No,” he said. “Please, have a little more faith in my organization skills.”
“Not likely,” Sirius told him. “I’ve seen your sock drawer.”
“Someone did it,” Lily said. “We were just trying to figure out who. Leda knew we’d be out tonight, but it looks like a dead end for your Ravenclaw theory.”
Sirius sat forward intently. “Leda knew you’d be out?”
“I think so,” Lily said.
“But I refuse to believe she’s capable of something like this,” James put in. “She’s more of a moper than a doer.”
“She does have cause, though,” Sirius pointed out. “She has motive. But I agree with you, she doesn’t have the creativity.”
“It wasn’t that creative,” James scoffed. “We could have come up with way better.”
“Even in the fourth year,” Sirius said.
James shook his head. “I’m telling you,” he said, “I don’t think it was the Ravenclaw fourth years.”
Sirius raised an eyebrow. “Maybe not,” he said, “but what do those Ravenclaws and Leda Wood have in common?”
James and Lily exchanged a quizzical glance. “Sticks up their”” Lily started to suggest, but Sirius interrupted her, getting to his feet excitedly.
“No,” he said, “but close.”
James rolled his eyes. “Just tell us,” he said.
Sirius, who had been facing the fire, turned to look at them, his face glowing triumphantly. “Annabelle Fletcher,” he said.
---
“I don’t get it,” Remus said, sounding bored. “I thought we decided that Annabelle Fletcher didn’t have anything to do with…anything.”
“No,” Sirius corrected, “you decided.”
The two of them were sitting with Peter in the common room the next morning, Sirius explaining the events of the night before.
“Well I don’t get it either,” Peter shrugged. “Why would some fourth-year even care about what we’re doing, or what James and Lily are doing?”
“Because,” Sirius said, frustrated, “she’s friends with Leda. And with those Ravenclaws who I know have been responsible for a lot of the stupid stuff that’s been happening this year. So obviously she’s got a taste for pranking.”
“And Padfoot is convinced that Leda is complaining to Annabelle, who is exacting justice.”
This last explanation was put in dryly by James, who had just wandered up to their table with Lily.
“Well,” said Sirius, “yeah.”
“You know,” Lily mused, sliding into a chair, “it kind of makes sense.”
“Thank you!” said Sirius emphatically, but James just laughed.
“I still don’t know,” he said. “I’m going to need proof here.”
“What, do you want me to catch her in the act or something?”
“You could always just ask her,” Remus said, rolling his eyes. “She just walked in.”
Sirius swiveled around, his eyes locking on Annabelle Fletcher, who had just entered the common room, presumably coming from breakfast. Without a moment’s hesitation, Sirius rose quickly to his feet and marched towards her.
“Hey!” Remus called after him, alarmed. “I wasn’t serious!” But Sirius paid him no mind.
Annabelle, who had sunk into an armchair, looked up as he approached, her eyes narrowed. Sirius stopped feet from her, his arms folded.
“So,” he said. “I bet you think you’re pretty clever.”
“Most days,” she replied coolly. “Which bit are you referring to?”
“I think you know what I’m talking about,” Sirius said.
Back at the table, where they were eavesdropping shamelessly, Remus threw a weary glance at James. “This is so melodramatic,” he muttered.
“It’s a little ridiculous,” James agreed.
“Shhh!” Peter hissed, gazing at Sirius and Annabelle, enthralled. Lily giggled.
Over in her armchair, Annabelle sighed. “You’re here about Lily and James.”
Sirius nodded curtly. “You knew they were out last night,” he said. “Don’t deny it.”
“I’m not denying it,” Annabelle said. Over at the table, Remus’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Leda’s been upset about it for days,” Annabelle continued. “I had to do something. Wouldn’t you?”
“I”that’s not the point,” Sirius said. “What are you trying to accomplish, anyway?”
Annabelle eyed him. “Look,” she said finally. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’ve gotten kind of pathetic.”
“Excuse me?” said Sirius.
“I mean it,” Annabelle shrugged. “My first couple of years here, you and your friends had a reputation. When things happened, everyone knew it was you doing it, even if you didn’t say anything. And now look at you. One of you is a prefect, another one is Head Boy…just look at you.” She snorted derisively.
“Please,” Sirius scoffed. “You have no idea what we do.”
“Maybe not,” Annabelle said. “But from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re losing your touch. And you’d better watch your back.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sirius said, bristling, as she rose to her feet and leveled her gaze at him.
“It means that my friends and I are going to do something so good that no one will remember you and yours after you’re gone. You have no idea what’s coming.”
And squaring her shoulders loftily, she stalked off.
Sirius stood, dumbstruck for a moment, staring after her, then went back to his friends.
“I really,” he said, “really don’t like her.”
“I’m sorry,” Remus said. “If it’s any consolation, I will now fully admit that you were right about her, and probably those Ravenclaws, and I’m sorry for thinking you were crazy.”
“S’ok,” Sirius murmured unhappily.
“I wonder what she meant, at the end there,” Peter said thoughtfully. “I wonder what they’re going to do.”
“Yeah,” James grinned. “Should we be bracing ourselves?”
“I wouldn’t take it too seriously,” Lily said suddenly, and they all looked at her in surprise.
“Were you listening to the same conversation we were?” Sirius demanded. “She sounded pretty serious!”
“None of their pranks have been that good yet,” Lily pointed out.
“No,” Sirius argued, “but they have gotten better.”
“Still,” said Lily. “Last year, James told me that the hardest thing about pulling pranks”successful ones, anyway”is keeping your mouth shut afterwards. And I think this latest conversation just proved that she can’t do that.”
There was a silence as all four of them considered this.
“That’s a good point,” Remus said. “They’re still really young.”
“Amateurs,” said Sirius, slightly more gleefully.
“I’m pretty sure I was showing off when I told you that,” James said added, and Lily elbowed him.
“So what are we going to do now?” Peter asked, looking up at Sirius.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Sirius asked. “We’re going to pull a prank.”
In spite of the Head Boy badge glinting on his chest, James perked up excitedly. “On Annabelle and the Ravenclaws specifically?” he asked.
“No,” Sirius said decisively, “school-wide.”
Remus nodded, looking resigned. “Might as well go out with a bang,” he said. “What’s the plan?”
“I don’t know yet,” Sirius said, his eyes glazing over. “But I’ll think about it.”
---
When James woke early a few mornings later, it was with a strange feeling of discomfort, a curling in his stomach, as though he hadn’t slept well. He rolled over restlessly, squinting as he felt around on his bedside table for his glasses, then stretched. Sirius, so many feet away in his own bed, grunted softly and thrashed onto his stomach, knocking his blankets onto the floor. James chuckled. Guess I’m not the only restless one.
Half debating whether or not to go back to sleep, James reached over to fluff his pillow, and was surprised when his fingers brushed something hard. Frowning slightly, he reached over and pulled a smooth, sand-colored stone from beneath his pillow. He turned it over in his hands, noticing as he did so that there were faint hieroglyphics etched into its edges. Shrugging, he made a brief mental note to ask Remus about it later, before tossing it into the drawer in his bedside table.
He went down for breakfast a quarter of an hour later, feeling, for no particular reason, rather huffy. Remus and Sirius didn’t even bother coming down for breakfast, which, for some inexplicable reason, James found irritating. Peter, however, trailed him into the hall a few minutes later, but his presence did nothing to ease James’s tension”if anything, it made him even more annoyed.
“Do you have to breathe so loudly?” he snapped. Peter glanced up at him, startled.
“Morning,” came a voice to his right, and he looked up to see Lily sliding into the seat beside him. She looked as lethargic as he felt.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, somewhat brutally.
Lily looked at him sharply. “Didn’t sleep so well,” she said. “What’s your excuse?”
She was teasing, but there was a bite to it; it cut deeper than their usual playful banter. Peter, from his side of the table, gave a loud sniff, and James’s gaze snapped over to him.
“Eavesdropping again, are you Wormtail?” he taunted. “Is that all you’re good for?”
For a moment Peter looked at him, eyes wide with hurt. Then, with a clatter, Lily dropped her fork onto her plate, and looked at James, her eyes stormy. “What,” she asked, her voice low, “the hell is going on here?”
“None of your business,” James said sullenly.
“It is so,” she said. “I don’t know that I want to be dating someone who treats his friends like that.”
“Oh, get off your high horse,” James said sarcastically, turning away from her. “Don’t be such a priss.”
There was a long pause, and then Lily dumped her goblet of pumpkin juice over his head. Wiping her hands neatly together, she stood and strode from the Great Hall.
Spluttering and fuming, James rose too, taking off in the opposite direction, towards Gryffindor Tower, angling for a change of clothes. The second both Lily and Peter had disappeared from his sight, however, all his antagonism towards them vanished.
What, he thought, horrified, as he climbed the stairs to his dorm, in Merlin’s name did I just do? And why?
Puzzled and distraught, he pushed open the door to his room, only to find Sirius and Remus in the middle of a huge row.
“You don’t understand!” Remus was bellowing. “It’s all well and good for you to prance around this school like you own it, but I have secrets to keep! And I really don’t appreciate your la-dee-da attitude about them!”
“I,” Sirius shouted back at him, his face red, “do. Not. Prance!”
“Shut up!” James said, noticing, as he did so, that his blood boiled at the sight of them, that he was itching for a good fight.
“Don’t get me started on you,” Remus roared. “Aren’t you supposed to be Head Boy? Didn’t Dumbledore choose you for no apparent reason? Shouldn’t you at least try to act like you appreciate it?”
“Shut up!” James cried again, fighting, as he did so, the almost overwhelming urge to give as good as he got. “Something’s going on. I was just a total prat to Lily and Peter for absolutely no reason…and now this is going on with you two…someone’s messing with us.”
Sirius and Remus blinked at each other. “I did sort of wonder why we just woke up and started yelling at each other,” Sirius said.
James strode quickly to his bedside table, pulling out the stone he had found that morning. “This was under my pillow earlier,” he said, tossing it to Remus, who didn’t even attempt to catch it. The stone hit him in the eye.
“Ow! Blast it all, James, not all of us are popular Quidditch players,” Remus hissed, bending down to pick up the stone.
“Oh, come of it,” James scoffed. “You missed on purpose just so you could whine.”
“You know,” Sirius said musingly, “I really don’t think you’re as good a Quidditch player as you think you are.”
James blinked. Then a second later, he leapt on Sirius. They scuffled around on the floor for a moment as Remus, barely noticing them, turned the stone over in his hands.
“Huh,” he said, then walked forward to his own bed. Feeling around beneath his pillow for a moment, he pulled out an identical stone, with the same markings around the edge. There was a stone beneath Sirius’s pillow as well, and Peter’s, and Remus frowned, carefully scrutinizing the markings. “They look Egyptian,” he murmured to himself, then reached under his bed for a book.
“Hey”gerroff me, you big sod, ow””
“Quit pulling my hair, you big girl!”
“I would if you’d stop biting me…”
Irritated, Remus looked over at the still tussling on the floor, flicked his wand, and quite calmly Stunned them both. Then, satisfied, he turned back to his book in peace.
Approximately ten minutes later, he woke them up.
“Did you just Stun us?” James asked, outraged.
“Yeah, yeah, get over it,” Remus said. “I know what this is.”
Interested, James and Sirius gathered around him. James wrinkled his nose at Sirius. “Have you brushed your teeth yet today?” he asked.
“Have you brushed your hair yet this year?” Sirius countered.
“Stop,” Remus commanded wearily. “You’re making it worse.”
“Making what worse?” James and Sirius said together.
“This,” Remus said, holding up the stone. “There was one beneath each of our pillows. I looked it up in my Ancients Runes book, and it appears to be an indicator of an Egyptian Curse.”
“Oh this doesn’t sound good,” James muttered.
“Please tell me no mummies are involved,” Sirius said.
“Not exactly,” Remus said, “but it’s a variant of the tomb curses, in Egypt. The gist of it is, instead of disturbing a sleeping pharaoh or whatever, we supposedly violated someone’s personal peace. We made someone’s life worse. And what this curse does is create strife and discord.”
“What does that even mean?” Sirius asked, sounding bored. “Who did it? Annabelle?”
“Probably,” Remus said. “It’s a very tricky curse, but her friends are Ravenclaws, after all…What it looks like to me is she’s still seeking revenge for Leda. She thinks we all ruined Leda’s life, and she’s punishing us by cursing us so we do nothing but fight all the time.”
“And Lily too,” James said, looking miserable. “So how do we break it?”
Remus shrugged. “We don’t,” he said. “There’s not a lot of theory on how to break it…the Egyptians knew how to curse. But the plus side is that this is a very difficult hex to maintain. Judging by the size of these stones”and they’re the power center for the curse”they only managed to make it so it would last a few days or so.”
“A few days?” Sirius yelped. “What are we supposed to do until then?”
Remus shrugged. “Fake sick? Stay away from people? Hide out in here?”
James looked back and forth between the two of them. “Merlin,” he groaned. “We’re going to kill each other.”
Stars Apart by Willow Rosenberg
Chapter Notes: Happy last-HP-movie release everyone!!Anyone else really sad about that?
Anyone else think Mcgonagall is AWESOME?
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