Tempus Fugit

By Artemisia Bristol and Kalantha

Disclaimer – Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers, not either of us.

A/N - Alright, here it is, Chapter Two! And it's three days before the two week deadline we promised! Any constructive criticism is very welcome, so please review.

Chapter Summary – Trouble ensues when Ron just can't keep his mouth shut around his new classmates, the Marauders. He manages to deliver a less than perfect first impression.

Chapter Two

Much Ado about Pockets

"That," Remus Lupin pronounced with a bleak grin, "is nothing but trouble."

Watching from their corner in the hallway, James Potter and Remus observed the arriving students file slowly into the Great Hall. There was only one thing askew in the picturesque scene and that thing had a name: Sirius Black. At the moment, he was arguing with a large and terrified group of second years.

Grinning in a way that only Sirius Black could, he descended like a dark cloud of chaos on the group of terrified second years. "Are you saying that I would lie to you? Fine, you take on the ogre all by yourself." Stuffing his hands in the pocket of his robes, he turned his back in sombre rejection. "Come on Peter, we can take our advice elsewhere. I'm sure that this group of second years can take on the ogre."

"Ogre?" A wide eyed second year narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"You mean McGonagall didn't tell you?" Sirius turned in mock shock. As the grim group of second years shook their heads earnestly, Sirius turned to Peter Pettigrew. "What was the old bat thinking?"

Peter bit his lips in thought. "Well, if she'd told me about it when I was in my second year, I wouldn't have stepped two inches off the Hogwart's Express."

Sirius shook his head and scratched his chin. "Suppose not. Hand to hand combat with a Northern Bellyrupter Ogre could be a bit frightening if you didn't know their weak spot. But I sure that all of you read R. Lupin's 24 Ways to Disarm a Bellyrupter Ogre in Hand to Hand Combat during the summer vacation, so you won't need our help."

"I can't believe that he's dragging me into this," Remus groaned. "I refuse to acknowledge that we know each other."

A pigtailed girl consulted with the group and then turned to Sirius. "We didn't."

Sirius gasped dramatically. "You di... Peter, they di... Not another massacre. Not again." With a heavy sob, Sirius buried his face in Peter's shoulder.

"There, there." Peter patted his head complacently and then turned to the second years. "It upsets him every year, you see. Last year it was so terrible that he had to be sent to St. Mungo's for a term. Ogres are terribly bloodthirsty creatures. Hungry for human flesh."

"Oh." The pigtailed girl looked a little green. "Um, Mr. Black, sir. If you told us how to defeat this ogre, we would be really grateful."

Tears vanishing as fast as they had appeared, Sirius snapped into business. "That's a perfect solution. Only, there's a small fee for goods delivered."

"What's that, sir?" the wide-eyed boy inquired.

"Forty two Chocolate Frogs."

A small conference was held as the second years nervously broke into their backpacks and pockets. Eyes lighting up, Sirius watched as a small mountain of Chocolate Frogs appeared on the floor. Watching as the students began to file into the Great Hall, the amassment was being quickly tallied.

That was far too easy, James thought to himself, watching Sirius gather his loot. Might as well shake things up for him. James gave a quick grin to Remus before interrupting Sirius's little entrepreneurial venture.

"Sirius, didn't you hear?" Sirius's eyes searched him suspiciously as the second years stopped their count for a moment. "Northern Bellyrupter Ogres have be put on the Endangered Species list. The second year combat had to be cancelled."

The second years heaved a collective sigh of relief. In an amazingly quick time, the mountain of Chocolate Frogs disappeared back to their previous hiding places.

"Deal's off sir," the wide-eyed boy said as he snatched up the last Chocolate Frog from Sirius's hand.

Watching the last of the second years disappear into the Great Hall, Sirius nearly had real tears in his eyes. "That was to be our best year yet."

With murder in his eyes, he turned to James. "You..."

" Sirius..." James shook his head as he rubbed his prefect badge. "I had to draw the line somewhere, and the exploitation of innocent seconds years seemed like a pretty good place to start."

Sirius mustered up the darkest glare he could, and directed it at his friend.

"I'll never forgive you," Sirius growled. However, his expressions quickly morphed as he scanned the now empty hallway. A mischievous smirk crept onto his face, then he began to search for something inside his pocket. From it, he brought a small beige coloured package that was squirming uncomfortably in his hand.

Solemnly, he handed the package to James noting all their various states of shock. "It's been worth it just to see the expressions on your face," he chortled.

This is bloody fantastic. A shudder went through his whole body, as James turned the package over in his shaking hands. He gently handed the package over to Remus who carefully prodded it with his wand. The package gave a high pitched squeal. Hastily, Remus bashed his wand over the top of the package and it shut up immediately.

"It's genuine," Remus said in awe. "How did you get it?"

"It took me all summer to convince my mother that Knockturn Alley would be a great place for a family vacation." Playfully, Sirius smiled. "Fun for the whole dysfunctional family."

Shaking his head, Remus handed the package over to Peter. Suddenly, it slipped from his fingers. Snatching it up in nimble fingers, James caught it and shoved it in his pocket as a straggler student passed by.

"Gentlemen," James whispered as they entered into a huddle. "Do you know what this means?"

"No more running face first into statues?" Peter said ruefully.

"A little more vision here Peter," James said blithely. "I am talking about a new era of Marauder history. Thanks to the determination of our comrade in arms - Sirius, you can stop bowing now - we are about to enter the history books. With this, we could even make Wizarding history. We will rise-"

"Um, James?" A hesitant female voice interrupted. "Are you busy?'

Restraining his wand hand from turning the speaker into a Flobberworm with digestive problems, James turned calmly. "No, " he said through gritted teeth, "not at all."

Then, as he realized who it was, all the anger drained out of him as he felt his ears turn slightly red.

It was Lily. Lily Evans.

"Sorry to bother you," she said quickly. "But Dumbledore wants you in his office."

He couldn't know about the... He can't read minds... Can he? James panicked. They can't expel people for only having something slightly illegal in their pockets. Can they? Despite his frenzied thoughts, he forced himself to exude an aura of calm and control. He smiled.

"Well," Sirius said jovially, "it was nice to see you Lily. Hope you had a great vacation. Love to stay and chat but we are going to be late for the feast. See you late James." Shepherding the Marauders into the Great Hall, Sirius shot back a last, sympathetic glance.

Some friend, James thought ruefully as he started after Lily who was already well ahead of him. With a few strides, he was side by side. "So Lily," he said with force casualness. "Do you have any idea what this is about?"

Lily's glance fell on her prefect's badge and then on his. "It might be a meeting. For the prefects. He asked for me too."

Trying to hide the giant sigh of relief, James's step took on almost a skip. Prefect meeting! Why didn't I think of that? Feeling quite carefree, he turned to Lily. "How was your summer vacation? Did you go to the Quidditch match in Caerphilly? You're from around there, aren't you?"

Features bleaching, Lily's voice was so quiet that James had to lean in to hear her answer. "No."

"Not a Quidditch fan?" he exclaimed in a mock faint. "I can't believe it."

"I like Quidditch," Lily protested defensively. "My family just didn't go."

Admitting defeat, they walked in silence until they came to the huge gargoyle that James regarded with distaste. The first thing I'll do if I'm ever Headmaster is throw that thing in the rubbish bin. As the statue crackled to life, they went up the stairs and entered Dumbledore's office.

Already greatly accustomed to the setting, James went to the great oak desk and helped himself to the bowl of lemon sherbets. The fire crackled merrily in the fireplace as the room was filled with the gentle sounds of slumber from the portraits hanging from the walls. Gentle slumbers except for Bertha Hugginstatch who was muttering something about turpentine between large snorting snores.

"Thank you for coming." James turned around with a jolt.

Dumbledore smiled gently in the doorway and motioned for them to sit. "I am sorry to draw you away from the night's festivities, but I have something that requires your special talents." Moving towards his desk, he halted for a moment and stared at James's pocket. Then, he raised his glance and stared straight into James's eyes, a slight smile creeping onto his aged face. Somehow, he seemed to know about the package.

No wonder the man gets his own Chocolate Frog card, James though with a touch of awe. Mentally, he reminded himself to let Sirius take care of his own illegal acquisitions in the future.

"Hogwarts's is rather honored to receive two exchange students from a private school this year. As prefects and representees of our school, I would like you to do your best to show them around our school and make them feel welcomed. Ron and Hermione, could you please come in?"

From the darkness of the room, stepped two of the most frazzled individuals James had ever seen. That's not quite true, he thought. When Sirius blew up the potions lab, Professor Malkolm almost looked that terrible. Almost.

The boy's blazing red hair was boldly defying gravity in several directions and he looked as if one ride on a broomstick would finish him off. His right hand was stuffed in his robe pocket, clutching something. The girl clung to her luggage as if it was about to grow wings and glide out the window. Both were wearing the most absurd robes that James had ever seen.

"Hermione Granger and Ron Holtby," Dumbledore said grandly, "I would like to introduce you to Lily Evans and James Potter." At the last word, the strangest thing occurred.

Hermione dropped her luggage in surprise. Ron gaped and started to whisper something to his companion who nodded vigorously. The entire time, they continued to stare at him and Lily, eyes wide with…well, James didn't know what. If he didn't know better, he would have described it as shock, like seeing a ghost.

Finally, the girl, Hermione, offered a weak, "Hello." Her red haired companion stayed silent, his expression still dumbly agape.

Nutters, James thought wretchedly, I'm going to spend my glorious fifth year baby-sitting nutters.

"It is decided that they will be in Gryffindor and room in your dorms as it will be easier for them to have a familiar face around at all time. Since you are all acquainted now, I believe there is a feast to attend." Ushering them out of the office with tremendous ease, Dumbledore lead them quickly to the Great Hall.

"So, where are you from?" Lily asked encouragingly as they walked briskly behind the Headmaster.

Ron answered first. "Well actually it was Mr. Weasley's School-"

"- Bauman's School," the girl started at the same time. Startled, she turned and glared at him icily. "Ron, we go to Mr.Bauman's Private School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In London. Where we have been attending for five years."

She accentuated each syllable while carefully looking at the companion. Noticing James incredulous stare, the girl laughed nervously. "It was a long trip."

It must have been very long, mused James, as he noticed she was trembling.

"Right." James peered at Ron doubtfully. As they entered the Great Hall, they quickly made their way to the Gryffindor table were the mounds of foods were quickly being devoured by starving students. All the student's were talking brightly as they greedily shoved the delicious meal in the mouths. At least every student except for Sirius, who was still looking sullen about his interrupted business venture. Downcast, he hardly seemed to notice anything around him.

Serves him right, James thought grimly as he steered Ron towards the table.

"James!" Sirius's eyes light up as he pushed Peter aside to make room for James. "Did Dumbledore find the-" His sentence died in his throat as he caught the bewildered expression on Ron's face. Pale and muttering under his breath, Ron did not present the ideal first impression.

"This," James announced as Ron looked at Sirius suspiciously, "is Ron Holtby. An exchange student from a private wizarding school. Ron, this is Peter and Sirius and -"

"Remus," Ron said oddly. Startled, Remus nodded.

Curiouser and curiouser, James thought as he sat beside Sirius. Ron wedged in somewhere beside Peter and Remus, and immediately began to shovel turkey onto his plate as fast as it appeared.

"Where did you get him from?" Sirius hissed angrily into James's ear.

"Apparently he came along with the prefect package this year. " James said bitterly as he began to eat slowly, "Lily got one as well."

Peter jostled him in the ribs. "But our plans for the year. How are we going to-"

"We'll talk later," James muttered, ending to conversation. They ate in an awkward silence that everyone seemed to notice except for Ron, who was too busy eating.

"So Ron," Remus said politely. "What did you do at your private school? I wasn't even aware that they existed."

Ron looked up from his plate and brightened, evidently pleased to be acknowledged. "It's only for very gifted students. You have to pay a lot to get in, very exclusive."

There was a silence as James examined Ron's robes. They were frayed at the edges and his luggage was strapped together magically by some rather ugly fabrics.

"That's interesting." Remus smiled dubiously. "What subjects do they teach at your school Ron?"

"Oh, we do loads of Defence Against the Dark Arts," Ron said as he tore into a turkey leg. "Quite renowned. We had some Aurors demonstrate the Imperious curse on some students, didn't we Hermione?"

From across the other side of the table, James caught the look of terror mixed with a murderous glare that crossed Hermione's features. He recognized the look, it was the same one he and Remus often gave to Sirius. Hermione recovered very quickly though. "Sure. Aurors."

Undeterred by the incredulous looks that he was received from the whole Gryffindor table, Ron gloated openly. "The Aurors were so impressed with my skills, that they talked about accepting me early into the Ministry."

Sirius glared from across the table but hid his anger with a stressed smile. "You should try duelling with Remus. He's the best in the school."

Ron looked over at Remus's slight figure with utter disbelief. "Are you sure?"

That's it, James thought as he felt the anger escalating. He can't insult Remus that way. Beside him, Sirius seemed to be thinking the same thing. Fortunately Remus's reply was much more controlled than the one that Sirius was no doubt preparing. "Do you play Quidditch Ron?"

Ron nodded enthusiastically. A glint came into his eye as he began to rave. "I play a lot of Quidditch. I'm the captain of my team. We had some scouts down from the Chudley Cannons this year." Even Remus's smile faltered a notch. Peter sniggered audibly but Ron paid no attention as his embellished his apparently miraculous Quidditch abilities. "They said that I'm ready for the European league-"

"Then show us." Sirius's voice brought a silence to the entire Gryffindor table. They all looked curiously at Ron.

"What?" Ron asked.

"I said: Show us. Give us a little demonstration your great abilities. Why not tonight? If you're not too tired from your journey we could use some entertainment." Sirius's eyes glinted strangely in the candlelight.

This is trouble. James felt the familiar feeling of dread in his stomach as he looked at his friend. He only gets that look when he is about to do something extremely stupid. But as he noted the stupefied expression on Ron, he couldn't resist. This is going to be fun.

"Tonight?" Ron squeaked.

"Why not? We could do some racing. James and myself have what some might even call skill," Sirius said as a gleam entered his eye. "Nothing compared to yours, of course."

There was a rustle of movement from the other side of the table. The students hid their snickers in their sleeves as Hermione stood up and grabbed Ron's shoulder.

"Ron," Hermione hissed . "You will not be doing any racing tonight. You will not be doing anything even vaguely resembling that. You don't even have a broom."

"He can borrow mine," Peter said quickly. "It's new. Nimbus 1001."

The table held it's breath as all eyes were fixed on Ron's pale face. Carefully, he leaned back nonchalantly in his chair, and declared: "I'd be glad to do a little demonstration tonight."