Eye of the Serpent | HP MARAUDER ERA [2]

Chapter Thirteen

I cleared up my desk, gathered my books and left the dungeons in a disgruntled manner. I nearly forgot that I was supposed to wait for James, Sirius and Remus, turning around to see them not far behind. I waited for them to catch up with me and together we headed back to Gryffindor Tower to spend our free period in the common room.

"Well that was terrible," said Sirius, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"That is an understatement," James mumbled angrily. "I can't believe Bianca didn't beat him."

I looked at my feet uncomfortably, jogging to keep up with the boys' long strides. "Thanks, James," I said sardonically.

"That came out wrong," he assured me. "I mean, you were really close... Slughorn could've given you both some Felix; Merlin knows there was enough—"

"Really?" I interrupted. "James, come on, you of all people know that tying with someone is the same as losing," I scoffed honestly.

"Right. I just wish it hadn't been that slimy git... We all know what a lucky day for him would look like," said James.

"You falling on your arse?" I suggested.

"Exactly."

We were silent for a few seconds before Sirius broke the silence.

"I wonder if he cheated," he said thoughtfully, stroking his imaginary beard.

"He didn't cheat," I told him. "Like it or not, Snape's really good at Potions. It's his best class."

"Then we ought to have cheated instead," Sirius added. "I should've thrown an extra Sopophorous Bean into his cauldron to mess him up."

"Padfoot, he was sitting all the way on the other side of the room," Remus chimed in.

"So?"

"So even you can't throw a tiny bean into a cauldron from across the room... your aim isn't that good."

"Whatever," Sirius snapped. "Then I should've used magic to spill his potion all over the floor."

"That's just mean, Sirius," I said, frowning. "Anyway, can we not talk about this anymore?"

"Fine," said Sirius.

We finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, by which time I was panting from having walked through the castle and from climbing so many staircases.

"Password?" she asked.

"Ectoplasm," I said, breathing hard. I leaned over for a moment, my hands on my knees.

The portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, revealing the portrait hole, which James, Sirius, Remus and I climbed through. As soon as we entered the Gryffindor common room, a sense of freedom washed over me momentarily. We had the next hour or so completely free to do whatever we wanted. Then was lunch, and then we all had Defence.

Peter was sitting on the couch in front of the hearth, the Marauder's Map on his lap. His eyelids looked heavy, as though he was about to fall asleep. His grip on the Map was slackening. When he saw us, however, he seemed to wake himself up. His eyelids fluttered and James ran forward, snatching the Map off of his friend's knee.