Priori Incantatem [HARRY POTTER FANFICTION]

Chapter 61: Godric's Hollow

Chapter 61: Godric's Hollow 

October 23, 1981 

Sirius Black circled above the Whomping Willow, making sure to give the tree a wide birth before bringing his motorbike into a seamless landing on the outskirts of the Hogwarts grounds. He removed his helmet and swung his leg over the bike, beckoning wordlessly for his companion to follow him. 

The second man swung his own leg over the seat in imitation of Sirius and managed somehow to tangle himself in the bike's footpegs. There was a loud crash followed by an even louder exclamation of pain as man and bike toppled over together. 

Sirius stalked to them, righted his bike, and yanked the helmet off the second man's head. "Wormtail, be quiet, for the love of Merlin!" he hissed furiously. "Do you want the entire castle to know that we're here?" 

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks for asking," Peter sniffed as he climbed to his feet and brushed himself off with an air of injured dignity. 

"I didn't ask because I don't care," Sirius snapped. "If you're enough of a git to hurt yourself getting off a motorcycle, then you've got bigger problems than a few scrapes and bruises." He glanced toward the castle again. "We'd best be on our way in case anybody heard that." 

"I don't know what you're so worried about," Peter complained as they hid the motorcycle in the trees and put a few Concealment Charms on it for good measure. "There's no one to see; it's after hours." 

Sirius gritted his teeth. "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." 

"Er ......why not?" Peter wanted to know. 

Sirius counted to three and took a deep breath before answering. "If you'd go to the trouble of using your thick head," he said in a would-be calm voice, "then you'd know that just because it's after hours doesn't mean that there's no one to see. Some students go out after hours, just like we did PRACTICALLY EVERY NIGHT OF OUR HOGWARTS CAREER!" 

"Oh. Right," Peter said lamely, but Sirius hadn't stuck round to listen. So he turned and scurried after Sirius, leaving the motorbike hidden in the dark. 

"You certainly got here quickly," Professor Dumbledore observed as he led Sirius to his private office. For reasons unknown, Peter had been instructed to wait in Professor McGonagall's office while Sirius accompanied the headmaster. 

"Yeah, well, we took the motorbike," Sirius explained. 

"Ah," Professor Dumbledore said, amusement thick in his voice. "That would indeed explain it." The pair stopped in front of the familiar gargoyle statue, and Dumbledore stepped forward. "Liquorice rope," he said, and the gargoyle rumbled to one side, revealing the staircase. Dumbledore and Sirius stepped on to begin the ascent to the office, the gargoyle swinging shut behind them. 

At the top of the staircase, Dumbledore motioned Sirius ahead. Puzzled, Sirius stepped into the office.....and saw James, Lily, and Harry sitting in front of Dumbledore's desk. 

"James!" Sirius, abandoning all pretensions of cool, rushed forward to tackle his best friend. "Lily, Harry!" he turned swiftly to hug Lily as well, then picked Harry up and tossed him in the air. 

"See!" Harry gave his version of his godfather's name and squealed in delight as Sirius caught him. 

"What're you doing here?" Sirius demanded "What's going on?" 

"Perhaps we should all sit down and discuss that, Sirius," Dumbledore answered him mildly. He conjured another chair and waved Sirius into it. After exchanging a glance with James, Sirius complied.