The next morning, Sirius woke with a pounding headache. He instantly regretted stealing the Firewhiskey from the kitchens. As most of his actions, it seemed like a good idea at the time. He raised his head and looked over at James. He snorted with laughter. James was lying face down on the stone floor, a bucket next to his head. Clearly, he had suffered more so than the rest of the Marauders.
‘James?’ whispered Sirius.
James grunted in reply.
Despite his banging head, Sirius laughed. ‘You alright, mate?’
At this, James lifted his head and stared at Sirius. His glasses were absent and the whites of his eyes were red. It looked as if he had been crying. ‘What do you think?’ he snapped, shuffling onto his knees. He looked over at the other boys’ beds.
‘Why aren’t those guys up yet?’ James demanded, getting slowly to his feet.
Sirius shrugged and flopped back down onto his pillows. He watched as James shuffled around the room gathering his things, taking care to make as much noise as possible, so to wake Remus and Peter. James stomped past Peter’s bed and kicked it, making Peter jump and fall out of his bed.
‘What was that for!?’ Peter cried in James’ direction, but James had already slammed the door to the showers behind him.
Peter turned to Sirius and said, ‘What’s up with him?’
Sirius rose from his bed slowly and stretched. ‘He’s hungover, Wormtail. He has never been able to handle his drink well.’ He chuckled to himself. His headache was dulling slightly, but still hovered around the middle of his forehead.
‘How’s your head, Peter?’ asked Sirius, pulling his uniform on.
Peter stood and smiled. ‘It’s fine actually! I have a high tolerance when it comes to my booze.’
‘Pfft,’ grumbled Remus from the folds of his duvet. He poked his head out, squinting. His sandy hair was sticking up, resembling James’ hair. ‘Why are you guys up anyway? It’s too early.’
‘Not that early, Moony,’ said James as he came back into the dormitory. His hair was damp and his eyes weren’t red anymore. The water seemed to have done him some good. James threw his clothes on his bed and jammed his glasses on his face. ‘It’s half past eight. Classes start at nine and we still need to get our timetables.’
At his words, Remus threw his covers from around him and ran like a headless chicken into the showers. The other three boys just stared after him, identical smiles spreading from ear to ear.
Sirius pulled his robes over his head and emerged with his hair static. ‘It’s nice to know Moony is still a human.’
‘Yeah,’ said James, hoisting his bag onto his shoulder. ‘I was beginning to worry he could do nothing wrong. If that was true, he would have to be kicked out the Marauders. We can’t be having a goody-goody involved with our tom-foolery.’
Peter and Sirius nodded wisely and carried on getting ready for lessons.
‘Nice to see you on time, Mr Potter,’ said Professor McGonagall, her eyebrows slightly raised as she watched James, Sirius and Peter walk in her classroom and sit down. As ever, the Professor had her hair pulled back into a severe bun; her square spectacles perched on her nose. She frowned. ‘But where is Mr Lupin?’
James grinned to himself. ‘He’ll be running late today, Professor.’
Professor McGonagall sniffed through her pointed nose and stood. By now, most of the class were seated. James turned around and saw a mixture of scarlet and gold with blue and bronze; the Gryffindors would be taking Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws.
‘This term, we will focus on the topic of human transfiguration,’ said McGonagall, walking slowly round to stand at the front of her desk. The class started chattering excitedly as the professor announced this.
‘This does not mean, however, that you have an excuse to act like immature children in my classroom,’ said McGonagall, her nostrils flaring slightly. ‘Yes, I am talking about you, Potter. You and your trouble-making comrades.’ She looked over the top of her glasses at James and said, ‘Let’s not start the term off with a detention.’
‘Yes, Professor.’
McGonagall eyed James for a couple of seconds before addressing the class as a whole. ‘Now, open your copies of Guide to Advanced Transfiguration and read the chapter on human transfiguration, before making a few precise notes. After that, you can come to the front of the room and get a mirror, before getting to work with the magic.’
James turned to Sirius and Peter, a devilish grin finding its way onto his face. ‘Something tells me this lesson will be full of fun...’
Sirius laughed his bark-like laugh. ‘Prongs, beware of the beast called Evans,’ he nodded at the red-head sitting two rows in front of the Marauders. ‘She will hex you into oblivion if you faff about.’ He looked at James, and flicked his wand in his direction. James’ hair changed from its normal jet black, to an acid green. He laughed at the expression on James’ face. After seconds of looking like a deer caught in head lights, James laughed along with Sirius. McGonagall, however, did not find it amusing.
‘Mr Black! Did you not hear what I said at the beginning of class?’
Sirius pretended to think. ‘Erm, I can’t recall anything. Sorry, Professor.’
McGonagall frowned at him. ‘Twenty points from Gryffindor, Black. If I catch you abusing human transfiguration again, I will put you in a month’s worth of detention. As punishment, you will not be able to practice the magic in class. You will do it as homework.’ She waved her wand and James’ hair returned to normal.
As soon as the professor had walked away from their table, James and Sirius started sniggering. Peter, however, seemed to have noticed nothing that had gone on around him. He was instead staring down at the pages in front of him, a blank look on his face. He turned his head and said to the two boys, ‘I don’t get it.’
Sirius and James exchanged looks and set to work helping Peter understand the work.
‘Lily, I’m sorry!’
‘Save it, Potter.’
James sighed and quickened his pace. In Transfiguration, James and Sirius had been helping Peter change the colour of his hair, because he was having trouble with the spell, when an extremely snobby Ravenclaw had goaded Peter about not being able to manage the spell. Sirius had turned around and said something about him and the Ravenclaws mother. This had caused the Ravenclaw to get angry and start shouting abuse at Sirius in the middle of the classroom. Then (Sirius being Sirius) retaliated and got sent to the back of the classroom. Being a fellow Marauder and best friend, James had spent the rest of the lesson making the Ravenclaws life hell. He prodded him, poked him, and threw things at him and much more. The Ravenclaw had snapped, sending a curse flying at James but, being one of the best duellers in Hogwarts (he didn’t like to brag about it) James deflected the curse and it had hit the Ravenclaw. Lily had thought it was all James fault, when, in reality, it was the Ravenclaws fault.
‘Lily! Listen to me, please!’
Lily stopped abruptly. James hit the brakes and stopped just in front of her. Her eyes were blazing with anger, but there was something else hidden in them. Is she disappointed in me? , thought James.
‘Well?’ she demanded angrily, her hands on her hips.
James chewed his lip before speaking. ‘He started it!’ He inwardly groaned. That was not what he had wanted to say. Lily’s face fell, as if she was expecting James to say something else.
‘How childish of you, Potter,’ she said calmly.
James faltered under the gaze Lily was sending his way. He didn’t like the cold anger. He was used to a shouting Lily, shouting-so-hard-that-she-goes-red-in-the-face-Lily – not this calm, but still angry Lily. She was harder to predict this way. At least if she was shouting, he could gauge as to what she would do next.
‘I’m sorry, that didn’t come out the way I wanted it to...’
‘No, Potter. I don’t want to hear it. I’ve had enough of your childishness; disregard for others feelings and your lack of respect!’ She turned around and walked a few feet, before turning back around again, her fists clenched at her temples. ‘I’m just mad at myself.’
James frowned. ‘Why?’ he asked tentatively.
‘I actually thought you were changing. On the train on the way here, you actually apologised to me. I thought at the time it seemed odd, but I was so glad that you seemed to be deflating your enormous head. But, after today, we’re back at square one. You – the arrogant bully who thinks it’s fine to hex others, and me – the idiot who actually thought James Potter could change.’
She left James standing alone in the Transfiguration corridor, his hazel eyes dull and sad.
Lily stomped up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory, her temper threatening to boil over. She had to get away from people, otherwise she’d do something very un-lady like. Like punch someone.
Swinging the door open with force that probably was not necessary, Lily entered the dormitory. It was empty, apart from Alice, who was reading through her Potions textbook. Potions had never been Alice’s strong subject, so she had a habit of reading the book’s cover to cover before the lessons actually started. Upon Lily’s loud entrance, Alice looked up.
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Do I really want to ask?’
Lily shook her head, afraid she would say something she would regret. Alice nodded and returned to her book.
Lily walked into the bathroom the girls shared and shut the door behind her. Fixing her eyes on the silver framed mirror on the wall, she studied herself. Her eyes were watering and she did not know why. She scrunched her eyes up and tears leaked from the corners. She was angry at herself.
Why I am letting James Potter of all people, bother me this much?