The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Twitchy Tutman

Twitchy Tutman


"What?"

"Nothing," James replied, turning back to his porridge quickly.

It was the last free day the students had for the holidays before classes were set to begin in the morning and they were all in the Great Hall early in the morning, everyone back from their trips home for Christmas. Remus was sitting across from James and Sirius at the Gryffindor table, eating hungrily, when he'd looked up to see James staring at him with a funny look on his face.

"No, come off it, James, what is it?" Remus asked.

James shook his head and turned back to the porridge yet again.

"Probably just tired from the train ride home," Sirius said, yawning just to back up his point. "It's a long trip from London. I know I for one didn't sleep all too well, kept feeling like I was still on the train, could almost feel the clickety-clack of the steel beneath my bed as I laid awake, even."

James nodded, "That's right," he said, yawning, too, having caught Sirius's.

"More like you were up talking half the night," muttered Peter, who was quite sour, angry with himself for falling asleep before the boys had gone off and done their thing. He'd wanted to prove to them he was just as cool and fun as they were. He'd wanted to show'm he could keep up and be a good mate to make secret plans with and do whatever it was they were doing after midnight together.

Remus mused and put down his spoon, grabbing up his pumpkin juice cup and looking away, his eyes traveling over the others in the Great Hall. The staff table was cluttered with all the usual suspects – but his eyes went right to Tutman, who was sitting in his spot, staring down at his plate, looking a bit thinner than he usually had done, his brightly patterned robes a bit askew. With a frown, Remus turned to the other three lads. "James," he said, "Did you get the letter I sent you over the holiday?"

James looked up from his porridge, and his face was a mixture of eager excitement and that funny look he'd been giving Remus all morning. Finally, the excitement one over. "Yeah," he answered, looking over his shoulder at the staff table, too. "So did you ever figure out what Tutman was up to?"

Remus solemnly shook his head.

"Up to?" asked Sirius and Peter both at the same time.

Realizing they didn't know the story yet, Remus quietly filled Sirius and Peter in on how he'd spotted Tutman sneaking down to the dungeons and how Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape had snuck up on him and caught him trying to figure out what Tutman was doing.

"This is not good," mumbled Sirius, "Not good at all..."

"Maybe he just fancied a wee in private?" Peter suggested.

"I'm telling you, there was something odd going on, something that they didn't want me witnessing and now look at Tutman. He's ill or something. Seems twitchy and jumpy." Remus waved a hand toward the staff table.

Sirius was holding his spoon and as he spoke, he waved it about, sending little spatters of porridge every which way, "My mum and dad said – way back in August, when they were still talking to me, that is – they said that the Dark Lord's got somebody here at the school... so... so if Tutman's sneaking 'round the Slytherin dungeons..." He made a face.

James's eyes were wide, "Tutman? Working for the Dark Lord?"

"Must be," Sirius said dramatically.

Remus's heart accelerated. Sure he'd though of something like that being the case, but only in a half-hearted sort of way, never in the awful, serious way that it was coming out of Sirius Black's mouth. He swallowed back the nerves. He liked Tutman, he hated to think that one of his favorite professors could be a bad guy. But Sirius had the evidence of what his folks knew and, from what Remus could tell, the Blacks were quite well connected with the Dark Lord and his cause and should, therefore, be a reliable source on what was going on with that lot.

"I heard Tutman telling Dumbledore he was going to secure the Floo Network against the Dark Lord, though," James argued, frowning. "What of that?"

"Must be tricking him out of looking further into it," Remus murmured. He'd forgotten what James had overheard, but suddenly it started clicking into place. "Tells him he's on top of the situation to gain Dumbledore's trust, then actually uses the situation himself to gain control.."

"Brilliant," Sirius commented admiringly.

"But what floo would be in a prefect's bathroom?" mumbled Remus.

Sirius's face fell and James crunched his up in thought. "Dunno," Sirius said after a moment.

Finished with breakfast, the boys got up and headed out of the Great Hall. In the doorway, Peter paused to tie his trainers and the other three hovered by him. James glanced over at the door leading down to the dungeons, where a handful of Slytherins were standing and chatting. "Wish we could get down there to look at that toilet and figure out what Tutman was up to," he said, frowning at the stairwell.

"Need a password for a prefect's toilet," said Sirius.

"Besides," said Peter, standing up, "You'd be seen in a second if you even went near that stairwell."

"I'm less worried about that than I am about the password bit," James said. "Did you hear Tutman, Malfoy, or Snape say a password, Remus?"

"No," Remus replied, leading the way to the stairs heading up to the Gryffindor common room. The other boys followed along.

Peter was looking thoroughly annoyed. Finally, he spat, "What would you do even if he had? Be invisible?" Before James could reply, Peter barreled on, "You never listen to me, always brushing off things I say. It's always about you three and how clever you lot are and I'm just stupid Peter, a tag along."

Angry with Peter, James replied, "But I can be invisible, and if you weren't such a great prat about it, I'd be able to tell you how."

Remus was hesitant. "That's really advanced magic, James," he said, "Well beyond our year. It'll take a lot more than looking up the spell in a book, if that's what you're thinking of doing."

"It's not at all," James replied haughtily.

"You can't be invisible!" Peter snapped loudly.

"I can!" said James back.

"You're impossible and – and – and full of yourself!" Peter shouted. Several people, including the Slytherins by their stairwell, looked up at the boys where they'd paused to fight on the steps going up to the second floor. Peter turned and ran off quick as possible, his fists balled.

The boys rushed to get out of the focus of everyone in the Great Hall, who were all still staring after Peter's outburst. Once they'd got up to the second floor, they dashed along the corridor a bit before coming to a halt as they came to the moving staircases. They paused to catch their breath, and Remus looked up at James. "Alright, show off," he said, eyebrow raised, "How do you suppose you're going to make yourself invisible, then?"

James looked 'round to be sure they were alone, and, seeing it was completely empty, he lowered his voice and said, "With my invisibility cloak is how."

Sirius guffawed loudly.

"Invisibility cloak?" Remus looked thoroughly amazed. "You're joking."

"He hasn't got an invisibility cloak, Rey," Sirius said, rolling his eyes, "He's just banging on like he'd been with Peter. Aren't you, James? Tell the truth."

"I am telling the truth," James replied. "I told my Dad about the map over the holidays, and he gave it to me to help us out. Which reminds me – he told me about --" James paused, eyes falling on glowing yellow eyes at the far end of the hall, where the old cat was peeking around the ankles of a suit of armor, staring at them in keen interest. "Mrs. Norris," he muttered, pointing, "Filch can't be too far behind. C'mon. Let's go up to the dorms. I'll show you I'm telling the truth."

The boys rushed up the staircases, taking the long way about to avoid Peeves the Poltergeist, who was cackling evilly from the fifth floor landing in a way that made them know they wouldn't want to pass by him lest they end up with something chucked at their heads.