Authors' note: Hi everyone, sorry this took so long, we had written the chapter and were ready to update when we realized that we had forgotten once crucial detail and had to edit it. Work on the next chapter will start immediately and we hope to get that chapter to you soon. And now, Here is Part Six of Harry Potter and the Secret Behind the Mirror.
A week had gone by and despite the nightly meetings that Dumbledore was having with the professors no one could come up with a decent answer as to why this happened. Furthermore, none of them knew how they were going to go about getting James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Lily back to their own time. All anyone had told them was that it was imperative that they not do anything life-altering.
Having recovered from the initial shock of being thrown 2 decades into the future, Lily, James, Sirius, Peter and Remus, along with Harry, Ron and Hermione, were having a great time. Even Hermione had to admit that life was much more interesting with the marauders around. Though every so often Fred and George would steal them away for hours at a time. An event that was almost always followed by some manner of mischief. Mr. Filch in particular had started looking suspiciously like he belonged in Saint Mungo's, and event that Lily decided was probably due to having the marauders back around, and one that Hermione regarded as the realization that he now had the marauders in addition to those pranks that were already mastermind by the twins. Despite their efforts to keep the matter at hand in mind, soon, the boys were impossible to manage with the approach of the first Quidditch game that weekend, however this event was put on hold when Professor Lupin pulled Remus to the side a couple of days before the match.
"Remus, I'm sure you've noticed, but tomorrow starts the full moon, I would prefer it if you didn't tell my students." Remus looked at his older self understandingly. He didn't think that the three of them would react horribly to the news, but if he said so, then he would have to trust himself. They would both be in the hospital wing for the next few days, and their job now, would be to try and devise a story that they could tell Ron, Hermione, and Harry.
That night, the marauders held their own private meeting in which they concocted a story that would work, they decided to simply say that there was a bug going around, and obviously if one Lupin's immune system couldn't deflect it, the other one wouldn't have much luck with it either. This was the story they told Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George the next day when they asked why Remus, nor his adult counterpart were in their classes that day.
Having seemed to effectively avoid exposing their best mate's condition, talk of quidditch began again in full force. With the news that he was on the quidditch team, James embraced his future son as "obviously from the same line," and the discovery that Harry had been made seeker in his first year only added to James' ego. The twins, who were particularly fond of Sirius, as he was, along with James, the ringleader of all the pranks the marauders ever pulled, were pleased to find that he too was a beater. The group of them were intolerable for a good portion of the night, talking about everything there was to say about quidditch until the three marauders declared that they had some business to talk about with Remus that had to remain private and left the common room, taking James' invisibility cloak along with them.
The quidditch talk continued and, if possible, increased the next morning at breakfast when they were all bursting with excitement. Unfortunately, the excitement was about to take a drastic hault as Dumbledore approached them in the Great Hall.
"'Morning Professor! Going to the game?"
"In all my years at Hogwarts, I have never missed a game, just as you, Sirius, until this day have never missed one," Sirius and the marauders looked crestfallen as Dumbledore continued "however, I am afraid given certain conditions, I cannot in good conscience allow you to go today."
"Wha-? But why not?" Sirius blurted, unable to hide his indignation. Peter, taking Remus' role as ever the peace-keeper in his absence, spoke up before he could continue.
"What is it that is dangerous professor?" Dumbledore gave them all a sad look.
"Unfortunately, these are sad days for Hogwarts, at the command of the Minister of Magic, I'm afraid that these walls and grounds are under the watch of the Dementors of Azkaban," at the mention of Dementors, all four marauders shuddered, leaving Lily to wonder what on earth could make these four boys so frightened. "and since the person that they are hunting Hogwarts for is in fact the older version of yourself, I fear that your presence at today's game would yield some rather unwanted consequences." The group of Gryffindors, and the marauders in particular had all become quite quiet. Some out of fear, and some out of disbelief that this boy that they had all spent the week with was now someone who was being chased by the most fowl creatures known to wizard-kind. In an act of great sacrifice, James stated that he too would not be attending the game. Upon hearing this, Sirius looked at him as though appalled.
"Blasphemy! James Potter! Not going to watch a Quidditch game when there is nothing stopping you? I am appalled."
"Come off it, you're my best mate, and I won't see you sit around all day while I'm out having fun."
"Yeah, and I won't see you giving up what could very well be your one chance to watch your future son play Quidditch! Now you will go to that game or I will tell Lily everything you've ever told me concerning her."
Blaring red in the face, James swiftly bid farewell to Sirius and walked out to the Quidditch pitch with Peter, Lily, Ron and Hermione to watch Harry play. Sirius sadly watched them go.
"You did the right thing mate." Remus said, placing a hand on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius sat in a chair next to Remus' hospital bed with an attempted smile on his face, trying to gather himself and then finally addressed Remus.
"You up for a game of chess?" Sirius suggested.
"Why bother? You know you're rubbish against me!" Remus responded. A remark that swiftly followed by a couple of slugs to the arm and an infinite amount of insults as the two set up the chessboard. All of Sirius' taunts were quickly silenced, however, when Remus proceeded to show Sirius, just how much rubbish he was when it came to playing against him. After defeat followed by defeat, Sirius admitted his loss, and the two were at a truce for the rest of the afternoon.
Harry was beaming as he headed down to the quidditch pitch with his two best friends and his parents. Never in his whole life did he ever think that this could ever happen.
"Da-er, James," Harry started, "I'm so glad that you and Lily are
here." Before running off to the locker room, he hugged them.
"Harry, good luck," Lily said. "And please, be careful." Harry
smiled an ran off.
"You guys really do have a great son," Hermione said to James and Lily as they watched Harry go.
"Are we going to stand here all day?" Ron asked, "Or are we going to
watch some quidditch?" James, Lily, Peter, Hermione and Ron walked over
to the Gryffindor stands.
In the locker room, Harry was getting changed and only half
listening to what Wood was saying.
"...and watch out for the dementors, especially you, Harry." Harry
stuck his head up. He wouldn't be watching for the dementors, but
making sure he caught the snitch as to make his father proud.
Out in the stands, Ron, Hermione, Lily, and James were taking their seats as the commentator, Lee Jordan, was introducing the teams.
"…And here they are!" The stands roared as flashes of scarlet and gold zoomed across the stadium and around the pitch.
"There's Harry!" Lily was jumping up and down, tugging on James' sleeve. "He looks just like you!" James put his arm around Lily as they watched the Hufflepuff team fly out.
Harry watched the other team and scanned the stands. Holding a sign that read 'Go Diggory' in support of the opposing team's seeker was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen; Cho Chang. As Madame Hooch stepped onto the field he was still in a trance, starting at her. Not until the snitch was released and it zoomed by his head did he snap out of his trance. The whistle was blown and the players were off. At some point during the game, rain started beating down and lightning flashed.
"Be careful Harry," Hermione whispered.
"…Spinnet to Bell, back to Spinnet, to Johnson and oh! Hit in the arm by a bludger! That's got to hurt, Hufflepuff in possession," Lee went right on commentating as the game progressed.
Despite the sudden thunderstorm, the stands remained full. Harry saw Cedric Diggory zoom up into the sky. Harry followed, climbing higher and higher. The snitch was almost in his reach when the temperature dropped and frost began to form on his glasses. Harry slid them down the bridge of his nose to look around. Flying around him were many black blurs.
"Not now, please," Harry begged, but it was no good, the dementors were closing in on him and he could feel it. He froze and lost all control of his body, The ground was getting closer and closer.
"Harry!" Lily screamed. It was the last thing Harry heard before everything went black. Lily started to run out of the stands, followed by James, Ron, Peter, and Hermione. The game had stopped, Cedric had caught the snitch, and was now arguing that the game not be counted. When the five of them reached Harry, he was already surrounded by the Gryffindor team, all of them hoping that he was ok. Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were the next to reach them, standing between a misty-eyed Lily and James.
"We ought to get him to the hospital wing immediately." Dumbledore said, picking Harry gently up and carried him off the field trailed by quite a following.
There was no getting around it. He was bored. Bored and antsy. Sirius and Remus had only called their game truce about half an hour ago, but the thought that there was quidditch going on and he could not go was tearing him apart. Fidgeting intolerably, Sirius tried to think of something to do. Remus, the calmer of the two by far, had found himself a book to read and was sitting in his bed doing just that. Sirius couldn't take it anymore.
"Arg! How can you just sit there like that? Don't you ever get bored?" He asked, wanting desperately for something to do. Remus glanced up at him with an amused look on his face. He was actually quite surprised it took this long. Knowing better than argument, he closed his book and gave Sirius his full attention.
"What did you have in mind then?" At the prospect of making mischief, Sirius' eyes took on an excited spark that usually led to trouble, though Remus was not going to find out what was on Sirius' mind as at that moment, Dumbledore entered, carrying Harry in his arms, a large group of students following in his wake.
Eventually, the hospital wing cleared out, and all that was left were James, Lily, Peter, Sirius, Remus, Professor Lupin, Fred, and George. Harry was awake but wore a depressed look and held in his hands what looked like a pile of sticks. As Sirius inched closer and got a better look his face dropped. He could scarcely make out the writing that once shone on Harry's broom.
"W-What happened?" He asked solemnly.
"Lost the game…" Harry answered. "Dementors, I fell off my broom and…" He looked down at the wood in his hands and fell silent. Sirius placed one hand on his shoulder and looked up at James.
"The wind took it." Ron answered for him. "Took it straight to the Whomping Willow. You can imagine what happened after that." Both James and Sirius cringed at the thought of it and there was a moment of silence in the room.
"Not to be er- realistic, but Harry, are you alright? I mean, physically?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded sadly and Hermione, along with Remus and Ron and Sirius as well, were relieved.
"Well," Sirius started in what sounded like an attempt at cheerfulness. "If I had my money here, I would buy you a new one Harry, a nice one, the newest model." Harry smiled at this and Ron got a dreamy look.
"Wow, imagine Harry, a Firebolt, that would be great."
A/N: Well we hope you liked it. Thank you so much to everyone who reviews, it really means a lot to us to know that people are reading. See you soon for the next chapter.
MoonznLil