The Gift From Death

Chapter 12: First year Part 5

5th, August, 1998...

"Okay everyone were skipping to the night of the duel." Harry said.

Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."

There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today.

"No worries! We always did that!" Sirius said cheerfully.

On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness - this was his big chance to beat Malfoy, face to face. He couldn't miss it.

"Half past eleven," Ron muttered at last. "We'd better go."

They pulled on their dressing-gowns, picked up their wands and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them: "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry." A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink dressing-gown and a frown.

"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"

"That wasn't very polite Ron." Molly scolded.

"I know. Sorry 'Mione." he said. Hermione just smiled and cuddled into him.

"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped. "Percy - he's a Prefect, he'd put a stop to this."

"I would have." Percy nodded. "But you'd probably sneak out when I wasn't looking."

Harry and Ron grinned at each other then looked at Percy still grinning, "How'd you know we'd do that?" they asked together.

"Simple, because you were 11 and determined to prove to Draco that you would show up and beat him in a fight." Percy awnsered them sounding amused.

Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.

"I was only trying to stop you from breaking rules." Hermione said to the boys who nodded. "Besides I think it worked the other way around. You two showed me that it can be fun to break the rules and that some rules are meant to be broken." she added so only Ron and Harry heard her, they smirked at her.

"Us breaking rules, wherever did you get that idea Hermione? We have always followed the rules that are worth following." Harry said mock-hurt. Everyone laughed at him being over dramatic especially the Marauders.

"That is the exact same thing your father told me." Lily said. "In our 7th year."

"It's true though we looked up the school rules and we followed most of them. It's not against the rules to pull pranks and there were definatly no rules about having fun, the main rules we broke were the ones that stopped us playing pranks like everyone in thier dorms by curfew, brewing potions in our dorm or somewhere else and the no magic in the corridors rule was broken constantly but almost everyone breaks that rule. We just streatched the rest of the rules to the limit." James explained.