Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 35: Sneaking into Hogsmeade
Toward the middle of November, James was flying high from the recent victory against Slytherin. He had made a spectacular catch of the Snitch, having chased it in a corkscrew fashion and under the Slytherin Keeper to make the capture. Ever since the match he noticed his popularity had made a dramatic increase. He had always been known for being one of the Marauders, but now he had separated himself from the other three by becoming a Quidditch star.
He started to become aware of several girls from a few different houses who gave him shy glances and smiles. A few who were more bold sat near him in class or tried to strike up a conversation in the corridor between classes. James didn't mind the attention, even though his affections still drifted toward a certain red-head.
Lily's attitude toward James was not improving. If anything, it was worsening. James had tried countless times to get her to spend time with him or even have a regular conversation. It seemed like she couldn't get away from him fast enough. One day after Lily had stormed away from James in the Great Hall, he turned and noticed a few of the girls who had been paying him more attention. James turned and glanced at Lily who had sat down at the Gryffindor table with Alice and Marlene. James, feeling hurt and a little angry by Lily's rejection, ran his hand through his hair and walked over to his 'fans' with as casual a grin as he could muster. He chatted with them for a while and soaked up their admiration, his bruised ego feeling a little better. A few times he glanced at Lily to see if she had noticed but she continued to eat her meal and ignore him.
When James returned to his friends at the Gryffindor table he noticed their amused expressions.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"How much is it?" asked Sirius.
"How much is what?" asked James, confused.
Sirius smirked and said, "How much is a membership in the James Potter Fan Club?" At this statement, Remus almost choked on his meal.
James smacked Sirius on the back of the head and started to pile food onto his plate.
Remus looked down the table and back at James. "So does this mean you're finally moving on? No more harassing Lily?"
James mustered up his most convincing voice and said, "She made it abundantly clear how she feels. There are other girls who are interested in me, so why shouldn't I focus my attention on them?"
"Well, it's about time. I was beginning to worry about you, mate! All this pining away when you could be having so much fun!" said Sirius.
Remus watched James, full of doubt. James decided to change the subject. "So we're going to need to tend to the Animagus potion tonight…" he whispered.
The others took his cue and launched into a discussion about the potion. They had started it the previous week after Sirius had gathered the other necessary ingredients during one of his detentions. So far they were brewing it in their dorm room, storing it under Remus' bed. Out of the four of them he was the most responsible. With their misadventures, James and Sirius were worried that at some point a professor might decide to search their things. Peter was too clumsy and bad at potions to trust. Besides, Remus' bed was the furthest from Frank's, who was still clueless about the entire situation.
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"I still don't understand why you won't give Potter the time of day," said Marlene.
Lily picked at her food and said, "I've told you over and over that it just feels too weird being around him."
"He obviously likes you," said Alice.
Lily glanced over at James and turned back to her friends. "If he likes me so much then why is he over there flirting with 5 other girls?"
Alice and Marlene looked over and saw that James was surrounding by several girls, a few Ravenclaw girls from their year and some older girls as well. He was smiling and messing up his hair, making the girls giggle and blush. Alice and Marlene noticed James glancing every so often at Lily, whose focus was on her half-eaten meal.
Marlene suddenly registered what Lily had said. "Are you jealous?" she asked incredulously.
Lily's head snapped up, her eyes wide in surprise. "Jealous?! Of-of course not!" she smirked. Seeing the doubt in her friends' eyes, she added, "Look at him! Showing off to bunch of giggly girls just because he's suddenly a Quidditch star! Me? Jealous? Ha!"
As soon as dinner was finished Lily grabbed her things and rushed out of the Great Hall, glad to escape Alice and Marlene's questions. She knew they meant well but she really couldn't handle their prodding her toward James. It was just too much. She made her way to the library and met Remus and Emm. They were going to work on the research for their DADA assignment. Lily was doing much better this year in DADA now that Riddle wasn't their teacher.
They now had Professor Oldman. He was an ancient looking wizard and the students wondered everyday if he would show up to class or if he would have dropped dead from old age. He used to be an auror but had long since retired. Professor Dumbledore had done an exhaustive search for a new DADA professor and had finally convinced Professor Oldman to come out of retirement to teach. This, at least, had prevented the Board of Governors from appointing another DADA professor. They had been responsible for Riddle's appointment the previous year.
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"Where did you say it was?" asked Peter.
"Shhhh!" whispered Sirius. "Geez, Peter, do you want us to get caught?"
"Sorry," muttered Peter.
"It should be halfway down this hallway. We need to look for a statue of a one-eyed humpback crone," said James. Earlier that week he found the letter his dad had sent him the previous year that told him of the secret passageway to Hogsmeade. James had completely forgotten about it and was surprised when he found it crumpled at the bottom of the pocket of an old school robe that barely fit him anymore. He told the other Marauders about the secret passageway and they eagerly awaited the weekend to try it out. It was a Hogsmeade weekend for the older students so the Marauders thought they could blend in with the crowd.
"There!" said Remus. He gestured toward the statue and the boys crowded around it.
"What now?" asked Sirius.
James was about to tell him when all of a sudden Filch appeared. The four boys suddenly became silent and tried to act casual. Filch eyed them suspiciously as he walked by muttering, "I'd better not smell any dungbombs in this corridor or I will have to drag out my whip…"
After a few minutes when the boys were certain the caretaker was a considerable distance, they all let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close," said Peter.
"No kidding," said Sirius. "That guy seems to pop up at the most inconvenient times." Sirius hadn't forgotten about how Filch had caught him setting off dungbombs near the Potions classroom the previous week.
"Okay," said James. "According to the instructions, it says to tap the hump of the statue and say 'Dissendium'."
Sirius pulled out his wand and did as instructed. The hump of the old crone moved aside, indicating a narrow opening.
"Peter," said Sirius. "You go first."
Peter looked nervously at the dark opening and hesitated. "I dunno, Sirius. It's awfully dark. What if there's something down there?"
James rolled his eyes and said, "You're the smallest and you'll fit through the opening the easiest. Just get in there and stop being a coward."
Peter, not wanting to appear cowardly in front of the other boys, gulped and shakily stepped into the opening. He hesitated for a moment before Sirius shoved him down. They heard a loud squeal as Peter slid down the chute into the passageway.
"Oy! Peter!" called Sirius. "You make it?!"
They heard a distant and echoing, "Yes!"
"Well?" asked James. "What do you see?!"
"I-I can't see anything!" Peter called back. "It's too dark!"
Remus cleared his throat and said, "Light your wand!"
They heard a nervous chuckle as Peter said, "Oh, yeah!" and lit his wand. "There's not much to see. It's a passageway and it looks like it's pretty long. There are a lot of cobwebs down here!"
"Alright!" called James. "We're coming down!"
One by one each of the boys made their way into the passageway. They walked for what seemed like at least 20 minutes before they came to a steep stone stairway. After climbing what seemed like 200 steps they finally bumped into a ceiling. Actually, they discovered it to be a trapdoor. As they carefully poked their heads through the trapdoor they realized they had reached a cellar of some kind. It appeared deserted so they climbed into the space. Hearing shuffling above them they approached a nearby stairwell and stealthily made their way upstairs.
After waiting a few minutes for the coast to be clear they snuck into the upstairs shop, only to stop and gape at what was before them. Sweets of every size, shape, and flavor were before them. The shop was already crowded with older students. James noticed a bag that displayed the name 'Honeydukes' carrying the purchase of one of the students.
The Marauders spent a fair amount of time in the sweet shop looking for things to add to the stash of goodies the house elves in the kitchens gave them. James bought a few boxes of Jelly Slugs while Sirius bought a case of Chocolate Frogs. James grinned, having remembered Sirius' fondness for the chocolate treat.
They made their way outside and walked around, gawking at the displays in the shops they passed. They admired the post office and spent a fair amount of time in the Quidditch supply store. By far, the most exciting place they visited was Zonko's Joke Shop.
Sirius looked like he was in Heaven. "This place is amazing. I can't believe nobody has thought to open a joke shop in Diagon Alley! They would be rich."
"Maybe you should consider doing that when you're out of Hogwarts," suggested Remus.
"Maybe…" mumbled Sirius. He was engrossed in a display of trick shoes. When he put them on and muttered a specific charm he felt like he was lifted upside down, however his feet were still firmly planted on the ground. It caused the oddest sensation and made him walk quite clumsily.
James was in another corner of the shop. He had found the perfect Christmas gift for Sirius: two-way mirrors. That way he and Sirius could communicate without the need of the owl post. That would solve a lot of problems during the summer holiday. James chuckled to himself, musing that they could also keep in touch when they were in separate detentions.
The boys, after dragging Sirius out of the joke shop kicking and screaming, topped off their Hogsmeade adventure with a visit to the Three Broomsticks. When they sat down in the tavern they were greeted by a curvy woman by the name of Madame Rosmerta. She eyed them suspiciously asking, "You boys old enough to be out this weekend?"
Sirius bowed and flashed a smile, "Why of course, Madame."
James followed suit and innocently added, "How else could we get here if we weren't?"
Madame Rosmerta chuckled and said, "Mmm hmmm. I suspect you're up to no good but since I have no proof, what can I get you?"
"Four butterbeers, Madame," said Sirius.
After enjoying their refreshment, the Marauders managed to sneak back into the cellar of Honeydukes before the shop closed. They found the entrance to the tunnel and made their way back to the statue of the one-eyed crone. Peter needed assistance making his way up the chute. Once they made it back to their dorm room they all celebrated their successful trip.
"I can't wait to try these trick shoes out on Snivelly!" exclaimed Sirius.
James nodded enthusiastically. He had never cared for Snape, however since that day when James saw him reading that dark arts book his dislike for the Slytherin had escalated into loathing. He and Sirius took great amusement in humiliating Snape. Since Snape was a Slytherin and already unpopular, the hexing that James and Sirius did drew a lot of praise and attention from other students. The two Marauders started to make a big game of showing off their pranking and hexing prowess against the greasy-haired Slytherin.
A few days later Snape was walking into the Great Hall when Sirius walked by him and muttered a charm. Snape's eyes widened and all of a sudden his arms flew out to try to steady himself. He tried to grab onto something to keep him from falling however he was a few steps away from the Slytherin table. Snape tried to lift a foot up however feeling the sensation of being upside down made him off balance and sent him stumbling to the floor. Sirius muttered the reversal charm and walked away laughing. Throughout the day he and James took turns charming the shoes that Sirius had switched the previous night, sending the Slytherin tripping to the floor.
After about the fifth time of sending Snape tripping to the floor, James approached him. They had just finished Potions class and the students were filing out of the room. James grinned and said to Snape, "What's the matter, Snivellus? You keep falling over. Is your gigantic hook-nose making you off balance?"
Several of the students laughed, except for one red-headed girl who frowned as she walked by, barely glancing at James as she passed. James, having noticed her, tried to brush it off by turning and grinning at the group of people he was entertaining.
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A/N: So another milestone arrives for the Marauders - their first time sneaking into Hogsmeade. So what did you think about the latest prank on Snivellus? I was inspired by Harry's trip through the maze in GoF when he came across the mist.
Thanks to the latest reviewers: MysticalMacaw, Golden Phoenix, likediamondrain (x2), sweetie513, DobbyGrl, itsme63, and Remus'sweetie. I'm terribly sorry if I missed anyone. From what I understand, when PK changed servers there was a temporary problem with the reviews where if there was one with an apostrophe it wasn't saved. According to the number next to my story there should be two more people for me to acknowledge. I'm sorry (and rather bummed out) that I couldn't read those reviews.
Next chapter: The Quidditch final - James and Sirius make an interesting wager with some members of the opposing team. Also, the Marauders finish the Animagus potion.