Disclaimer: Me no own. J.K. Rowling all own.
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Chapter 11: Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs
About an hour later, the entire company was sitting in one of the booths at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry and Ron introduced Hermione to Sirius and Remus and the five started chatting amicably.
"So how's Hogwarts these days?" asked Remus. "Dumbledore still guardian?"
"Yep," answered Harry. "We're very lucky to still have him. It seems the Death Eaters are getting more desperate these days."
"They should be!" declared Sirius. "Now that the Gryffindor armies are back in Magiterran, the old days will come back soon! The Kingdom of Gryffindor will be reestablished!"
"Calm down, Padfoot," hissed Remus. "You don't want to cause a scene!"
"Aw, shove it, Moony," laughed Sirius. "You're just as excited as we are and you know it!"
Harry and Ron laughed but Hermione seemed a little confused. "Moony? Padfoot?"
"Our old nicknames," said Remus. "Harry's father was Prongs." When he said this, everyone stopped laughing.
Sirius sighed. "You know Harry," he said. "You look more like Prongs every time I see you. Except your eyes, you've got your mother's eyes."
Harry gave him a sad smile. "Yeah, I know. Everyone tells me that."
Everyone was silent for a moment. Sirius sighed again. "I remember when we were all squires back at Hogwarts. It sure seems like a long time ago. Moony, Prongs, and myself would go sneaking around the castle during night and we would play pranks on unsuspecting Slytherins."
Remus laughed. "We sure gave McGonagall a number of gray hairs. I don't think there have ever been any master pranksters at Hogwarts since the four of us." He suddenly shut his mouth as if he had let on too much. Hermione didn't miss it.
"Four?"
"There was one more member in our group," said Remus.
"Wormtail," spat Sirius.
Hermione's eyes went wide. "The Death Eater?" All four Mage Knights nodded glumly.
"Peter Pettigrew, that's his real name by the way, was a member of the Gryffindor nobility and a close friend of James and Lily, like we were. At least, that's what we thought," said Remus. "But he betrayed us. He sold Lily and James to the Death Eaters."
"The dirty rat!" shouted Sirius. "Must've been the finest hour of his miserable life when he handed James and Lily to the Death Eaters on a silver platter." He looked positively livid. Ron had a look of disgust on his face while Harry radiated a silent anger.
Hermione thought for a moment. 'So Wormtail is the reason the Royal Family is dead. Wormtail is the reason that the Kingdom of Gryffindor no longer exists. Wormtail is the reason why we have been living under the yoke of Death Eater rule for 16 years. Wormtail is the reason why so many of us have lost every thing; why I've lost everything.' Hermione felt a silent anger run through her veins.
"Anyway, enough heavy talk," said Sirius with a mischievous grin. "So, Harry miboy. You found any love in your life? Are the ladies throwing themselves at you?" He said all this in a sing-song voice. Hermione felt her heart plummet.
Ron and Remus laughed while Harry frowned and said "Be serious."
"I am Sirius."
Harry sighed. "Nope, hasn't happened."
"Oh come off it, Harry," said Ron with a grin. "Everyone knows that you're the most eligible Mage Knight in all of Magiterran."
Hermione looked down at her tankard of butterbeer sadly. Remus seemed to notice and abruptly changed the subject. "So will you be escorting us back to Hogwarts tomorrow?"
Harry raised his eyebrows at the sudden change of subjects but let it pass. "That's right. We should leave first thing in the morning. How many soldiers came back?"
"Seven thousand," answered Remus.
Harry nodded. "Excellent. We've already got ten thousand each of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and two thousand from the Slytherin Resistance. Plus about eight hundred Mage Knights. That should be quite a good number for the great battle don't you think?"
Sirius grinned. "The combined armies of all four Kingdoms against a bunch of cultists and their monstrous creatures. How much easier can it get?"
"Don't be so sure," said Remus. "The Death Eaters are a very powerful force to be reckoned with."
"Come on, Moony" said Sirius. "Be a little more optimistic. Prongs would've definitely been looking on the bright side of things if he were here now."
Remus sighed. "I know, Padfoot."
"Moony and Padfoot are going to strike again," said Sirius. "Prongs will be avenged and Gryffindor will once again be a kingdom." He struck on his fist on the table.
"Well, its getting late now," said Harry. "If we're going to have an early start tomorrow, we should get some sleep." The others agreed and stood up. As they were making their way to their rooms, Hermione passed by a portrait of Queen Lily. She decided to stop and look at it a bit.
'How does it feel,' wondered Hermione, 'to be betrayed by one you've trusted with your life? Did you feel hatred towards Pettigrew when you found out what he had done? Did you curse his name and wish death upon him? Or were you willing to forgive him? Were you willing to extend him that forgiveness for which you were so well known for? Would I be able to do the same if what happened to you happened to me?'
Hermione studied the portrait as the Queen smiled kindly at her. Lily was a beautiful woman whose beauty Hermione admired and envied a little. Her wavy, dark red hair fell down to her waist. And her emerald green eyes shown with love and kindness. 'Wait a minute,' she thought. Hermione studied the eyes a little closer. This was the first time she had looked at a picture of Lily in detail and she couldn't help but shake the feeling that she had seen those eyes somewhere before. They radiated with a sense of warmth that made Hermione feel protected. Somehow, she couldn't shake the feeling that she knew those eyes. However, she felt very tired and decided to think about it some other time. She went back to her room, laid down on her bed and fell asleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
An old merchant was traveling through the country paths. He had been hoping to arrive at Diagon Alley before dark but had ended up behind schedule when he had gotten lost. As he was hurrying to get to his destination, he chanced to see a man with glowing red eyes heading toward a lake. Though the merchant had no way of knowing this, the man's name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. Curiosity getting the better of him, the merchant decided to see what the man was up to and followed him.
Riddle walked up to the edge of the lake and peered across the water. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but what emerged from mouth was not a voice, but a hiss. He continued hissing and spitting at the water for a while before stopping. After a moment of silence, ripples started to form across the surface of the lake. The old merchant nearly screamed when something stuck it's head out of the water.
It was a snake. A monster snake. It was about fifty feet long and as thick as an oak tree. It had a bright, poisonous green color, enormous fangs, and a rooster's crown on it's head. But the most frightening thing was that the serpent was hissing and spitting at Riddle and Riddle was hissing and spitting back. With a lurch in his stomach, the merchant realized something: 'this man talks to snakes!'
The merchant decided that it would be best to make a quick get away. Unfortunately, he stepped on a twig, catching Riddle's and the serpent's attention. The last thing he ever saw were the basilisk's yellow eyes!