𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐔𝐌 𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐒𝐀 - 𝐞𝐧 ✓

Chapter 3: The Marauders

James Potter and Sirius Black were best friends. Brothers, even. They were just sitting in their beds discussing the newcomers when the door slowly slid open. Peter squeaked and turned into a rat, while the other drifters disappeared under the tarpaulin in a flash.

"Annoying!" said the one boy who looked a lot like Frank Longbottom. "Harry, do you know how we're going to get back?"

"No idea!" said the other.

"It's funny how Draco's changed so much. But I like him so much more. Another nice thing -" the boy called Neville began. James wanted to hear what he was saying, but Peter squeaked excitedly and the door slid open a second time. Frank stuck his head in and went to the bed where the two newcomers had settled down.

After a while, he left and the newcomers disappeared again.

"Phew!" James pulled the cloak off his head. "Something's not right with them! They just turn up and Dumbledore trusts them. Padfoot, Moony, we're spying on them! They have a secret!"

"Okay, and how do we do that?" asked Remus.

"That you of all people should ask, tomorrow morning we'll get up and take the cloak and spy on them!" James shook his head.

"Great, Prongs!" Sirius punched a fist in the air. "What's the plan?"

"Wormtail sleeps as a rat tonight and when the alarm goes off you go after the new ones. Padfoot can hide under the blanket as a dog, me and Moony can follow behind with the cloak of invisibility. Once that's sorted out ..."

"...then we're going to eat!" Sirius finished James' sentence, but not in the way he wanted to say it.

"Gluttonous dog!" grinned Remus.

In the Great Hall, the drifters sat down as close as possible to the newcomers. "...Neville, I'm warning you!" scolded the girl with the brown curly hair. "I don't know what you were thinking! Now we're in a mess!"

"Hermione, it's all right, give it a rest!" her twin brother Harry reassured her - or at least they were both called Granger and looked alike. Everyone noticed that Harry was quite similar to James except for the colour of his hair - and so was Hermione. It was confusing.

"Hello, are you the new guys?" James asked as friendly as possible. The others flinched. "Er, yeah... We're new," Neville mumbled into his pumpkin pie.

"Cool, I'm James Potter, this is -" Sirius elbowed his friend. "I can introduce myself. I'm -" he began. "Sirius Black, I know," Harry finished his sentence. Sirius' eyes widened. "How do you know who I am?" Harry blushed. "Er, ... Well, well," he stuttered indecisively. "The others have been talking about you!" Harry looked gratefully at his supposed sister.

"I'm Remus Lupin," Remus said.

"Peter Pettigrew." The drifters were surprised when the others looked at Peter rather darkly. "What is it?"

"Luna Lovegood," Luna said, dreamy as ever.

"Neville Long-, Lovegood."

"Harry Granger." (Ginny went into a fit of laughter.)"Hermione Granger."

"Ginny Weasley. The one over there, at the Slytherin table, is Draco Black."

"Black?" asked Sirius incredulously, "not another one of those, please."

"Nah," Harry reassured Sirius, "he was like that."

"Okay, good." Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.

"What school did you go to?" James asked curiously.

"Durmstrang," came from Hermione Granger, as if shot from a wand. "But our parents decided that we should come to Hogwarts."

"Are you playing Quidditch? I'm captain this year. Chaser," James said.

"Yeah, I'm a Seeker," Harry said, and ignoring Hermione's warning look, he added, "since my first flight."

"Wow," said James.

"Chaser!" said Ginny, "and Draco's a seeker too."

"Do you remember, Ginny," Harry grinned, "in your fifth year you had to stand in for me because I beat up Draco and got into trouble with the Toad again?"Ginny snorted into her hand."Your look was divine!"

"Ewww," Hermione cleared her throat, "everyone can hear you."The drifters looked at Harry as if he'd just been given a dragon's tail. "Fifth year? How... Well, I mean, we're in fourth, and..." James looked at the perplexed.

"Nothing, come on Harry, let's go!" Hermione didn't give Harry a way out and by that she actually meant everyone.

They left four perplexed fourteen-year-olds behind.

What's strange about the new ones:

1. Neville had first said Long and then Lovegood.

2. Harry has been a Seeker since his first flight.

3. Ginny and Harry have been talking about Harry's 'fifth year'.

4 Ginny giggles when Harry says his whole name.

"I think it's all in."

James looked round the room. "That's really a lot of reasons. Moony, where's the map?"

Remus looked around searchingly, spotted the map of the prowler and took it.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to not good.

"Hogwarts and its lands appeared. Remus ran his finger over the yellowed parchment. "I don't see them."

"Let me see that, it can't be." James snatched the map out of his hand.

"Fact!" he muttered after a few minutes, "they're not on it!"

"Aren't they at Hogwarts?" squeaked Peter. "Looks like it!" growled Remus. "The map never lies!"