𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗹𝘆, james potter

-ˋ 23

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
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-: seventh year :-

── IN WHICH THEY PREPARE

. . .

"Still ignoring me, Twig?" James leaned over one of Tiger's shoulders, the Howell girl dutifully not replying, or even glancing his way. "That's a shame, I thought you would quite like to hear about this rather interesting offer I recieved."

"James Fleamont Potter do not try and goad me into replying to you." Tiger said quickly, not even looking at him as she reached over the long wooden table to get one of the cornish pasties labelled as beef. 

"I didn't need to." He replied, and the girl finally looked over at him, not looking very impressed. "Tig, come on, we fought over the most stupid thing ever." 

"I don't care how stupid you are, I think you're stupid for thinking you don't deserve better." She said. "But I will agree to disagree." 

"Oh thank Godric." James let out a thankful sigh, slipping into the seat beside her. "I thought I would have to go this meeting thing and stand with them lot." He gestured to the side of him, where Remus, Peter and Sirius sat.

"James, you don't have to pretend like you weren't looking forward to muttering obscene comments to Sirius when you thought Dumbledore wasn't looking." Tiger told him, taking a bite of her food.

"See that's why I date you. Because you know me far too well. You knew I was going to do that before I even thought of doing it by myself." James smiled, planting a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek before loading his own plate with food. "So do you reckon Minnie won't mind me missing this detention?"

"When have you ever worried about a detention?" Tiger replied, cutting her pasty in half and sliding the uneaten one onto James's plate, seeing him pout when there weren't any left on the tray she had got her's from. "Besides, Minnie McGee is probably involved in this whole thing."

"But what if she isn't and I'm just digging myself into a deeper hole. I knew I shouldn't have set those fireworks off." He said with a sigh, Tiger staring at him, eyebrow raised. "You're right I made the right choice setting them off."

"That's not my.." She began before trailing off. "They were rather pretty. And they set that guy's cloak on fire. You have nothing to worry about Prongsie, besides if McGonagall asks, we can all back you up."

"Sure we will." Sirius said from across the table, laughing when James threatened him with his fork. "Do you reckon anyone else is invited?" He asked.

"There must be.. I can't think of a reason why only us lot were invited." Remus glanced around, the food on the table turning from savoury to sweet. 

The dessert was eaten quickly, and the group gathered outside of the hall. "So do we go now?" Marlene asked, her arms wrapped around Lydia's shoulders, the shorter girl swinging them from side to side. 

"I'm guessing so? He'll be waiting." Remus glanced around, moving to the side and looking down into the hall. "His chair is empty and I don't think I saw him sat in it."

"Well what are we waiting for?" The ever-spontaneous Tiger jumped in, practically bounding around the group. "We should just go for it, I don't think we have any other choice."

"Tiger's right." Sirius nodded. "There was nothing else on the note, so what else can we do. If he wanted us to come at a specific time then he would've said so." 

"Let's go then." Tiger pulled James forward, and the rest of them followed, trailing up the various staircases and along corridors, passing people until the hallways became a lot less crowded, and finally completely empty.

They came to a stop outside of a gargoyle statue, staring up at it. "Do we just go up..?" Peter asked, his nervousness coming out as a squeak. "It moves when we say the password right?" He checked, a few of the others nodding. 

It was clear that they were all nervous, some more than others. The note had given them absolutely no indication of why on earth Dumbledore had asked them up to his office, and seeing as none of them had done anything particularily stupid or dangerous, there was absolutely no idea forming in any of their minds of what could happen. 

"Oh to hell with it." James stepped foreward. "Cockroach clusters." He said, and they watched as the gargoyle statue swung back to reveal a staircase. 

And with a deep breath, he began to climb up it, the others following behind him.

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