Chapter 4
James was returning from Charms when he heard a familiar scream. Peter’s cries through a dark corridor that seemed to lead endlessly into the depths of the castle. Intrigued, he peered in the direction of the sound but, unable to see anything and Peter having fallen silent, rolled his eyes and kept walking, deciding it must have been one of Peter’s many daily mishaps. That was until he heard it, a loud cracking sound, a misfired spell there was no doubt about it.
He whipped around and raced down the hall, caution thrown to the wind. As he ran, he began to make out familiar voices. Barty Crouch Jr’s voice rang out clear as day and it seemed there were a few others with him. He slowed, becoming guarded, pressing his back against the cold stone walls of the dungeon. He felt the moisture of the wall through his shirt, as he wearily advanced, soon peeking around the corner. There he saw Peter holding his eyes, on the ground, and standing over him were, as he had guessed, Barty Crouch Jr, Evan Rosier and, almost unexpectedly, Regulus.
He knew that Regulus often hung around the pair but never before had he considered the fact that he knew about all the horrid things they had been up to. In hindsight, it seemed obvious. Despite whatever he'd been telling himself, how much he deluded himself into thinking maybe he understood some part of Regulus, having heard stories of his youth that Sirius now long since refused to tell. The boy had never shown any real signs that he wasn't just like the rest of them. As he stood frozen, Regulus turned towards him and their eyes met, his face as blank as ever. A chill ran down James’ spine.
He could have been staring for seconds or hours until Peter spotted him.
“James!” he exclaimed, reaching an arm out towards him. He snapped out of it and ran over to pull him to his feet. He sent the Slytherins a scathing glance before he threw Peter's arm over his shoulder and helped him back to the Common room.
“Can you believe them! Those bloody…,” Peter trailed off, lifting a hand to hold his head and groaning. He limped his way back to the door to their dorm room.
“You’ll never believe what just happened, ” Peter called, rushing in and pushing the sweaty hair that had begun sticking to his face as he ran. He heard the loud crash before Remus and Sirius both emerged from the depth of the room. James gave them a knowing look. Sirius glared at them but Peter took no notice and rather busied himself with recounting his experience at the hands of the Slytherin gang and showing off the black eye he was now sporting, conveniently leaving out Regulus’ presence. He had only been brought up a few times with Sirius by now and the tension that followed them afterwards had made it clear that any mention of his name was to be avoided at all costs.
“You’d think they’d have realised by now that we always get back at people who try to mess with us. I mean really! There are so many Griffindors, why mess with the Marauders?!”, Peter said, becoming more and more irate as they discussed his attack.
“We’ll obviously have to get back at them!” He assured, a pensive expression on his face. Remus and Sirius shared an exasperated look. Peter had a tendency to bite off more than he could chew, assuring the Marauders that they would get revenge on those who wronged them, though that usually meant him, and would quickly lose interest, giving his attention to some new girl or quidditch team or whatever else caught his attention.
“Well, do you have any ideas?” Sirius asked, a doubtful expression clear among his elegant features.
“I mean… I don’t know exactly what we should do but you always think of something… ,“ he said sheepishly, shifting his gaze to his feet. James felt a pang in his heart, once again putting his arm against his shorter friend. He could feel the tension in the room and attempted as best as he could to dispel it. Sirius would just have to learn this was their dorm, not his and Remus’.
“Of course we’ll help you get back at them Pete. You know we always have your back,” James announced, smiling stiffly at Sirius and Remus, “We’ll brainstorm after supper.” Reminded of the time, he hastily cast a Tempus and grabbed Peter’s wrist.
“Oh Merlin! Dinner’s already started! Half the food will be gone by the time we get there,” he grumbled, dragging Peter behind him as he threw open the portrait that acted as the Common Room door, ignoring the cries of the Fat Lady. They descended quickly to the Great Hall, Sirius and Remus loitering behind.
They tried as quietly as possible to open the doors of the Great Hall, falling in step with the others coming to dinner late. They slipped through the open door and headed to their usual seats. James looked to the Slytherin table. Regulus sat near his supposed friends, who were pointing and clearly laughing at something in his direction. He followed their pointing fingers to Peter’s face, his black eye still on full display. He clenched his fists, his jaw tight. If there was any chance of him letting them off the hook, it was now well and fully gone. Even if Peter lost interest, James would ensure that they got their just desserts. No one made fun of his friends. He marched over to Sirius and grabbed him by the shoulder. He swiftly pointed out the Slytherins across the hall.
“I know you’re annoyed at Pete but just look at them. They’re laughing at us!” he was practically seething by this point. Sirius at first looked quite unaffected by the entire ordeal but as he scanned the group and his eyes met those of his brother, as cold as always, a newfound resolution seemed to enter him. His shoulder rose and stiffened. He met James’ eyes and nodded.
“We’ll get them good. You know we always do but,” he added almost jokingly, “you can’t try to water down my pranks again if you want my help.” James hurriedly agreed as they took their seats. It was no secret that Remus and Sirius were the mastermind of their pranks, being equal parts brilliant and chaotic, though some might say Sirius’ ideas tended to border more on deranged. James’, in part thanks to his invisibility cloak, was the executor of their genius plans, while Peter, well he mostly found reasons to prank people by somehow managing to constantly get into trouble with someone or other. James shot a final look over to Remus who rolled his eyes but nodded all the same, confirming he was in. A small smile spread across James’ face as he tucked into the spread laid out in front of him, finally letting Peter’s dilemma leave the forefront of his mind.