61 ~ When the Night was Young

For one moment the world had gone still; then Filch ruined it

Remus' POV:

     "What happens if I burp and fart at the same time, does a vacuum form in my stomach?" heard from the other end of the room and looked up from my book in horror. Of course the question had come from Sirius, who was lying on his back on his bed, his feet on his pillow. He was thinking about stupid things.     "Depends," replied Prongs, who was looking at the Marauder's Map out of boredom, "like how hard you burp and fart."     "No, it doesn't depend on anything at all," I said sternly. A look of disbelief was on my face.

I hope they aren't serious.

     "Okay, then a better question: can you read a picture book or only look at it?"          "No answer," I grumbled.     "What if you only have one eye, do you blink or wink then?"          After that question James started sniggering. Also Peter was amused, while doing his homework.     "Why are you even thinking about that and how do you come up with something like that?" I asked and failed to understand Padfoot.          "I've got loads of free time."     "I can tell."          "What's with that tone, Moonykins?"     "One you understand perfectly well," I shot back; Padfoot was being Padfoot again.          "A buttered slice always lands butter-side down, a cat always lands on its paws. What happens if I spread butter on a cat's back and drop it?" and now Prongs properly started laughing. I had to shake my head in amusement.

But why...?

     "If I've got invisible ink. How do I know when I've run out of it?"          "You think too much," I said cheerfully and closed my book, because I could forget about reading now. I put it on my bedside table, after which I lay down on my stomach. Padfoot kept staring at the ceiling.     "Don't you always say thinking is good?"          "Yeah, but you have to define it properly."     "What's the definition of defining?" he continued.          I sighed deeply.     "Defining means, according to the definition, that you define something according to another definition," Wormtail tried his luck and James started laughing again.     He was lying on his stomach as well, our map in front of him. With his wand he switched rooms and said: "A good definition of the word 'define'."     "I think so too," Sirius agreed, after which things went quiet between us for a short while.          "Old Dumbledore has been staring out the window for half an hour now." James said and looked at the map.     "Maybe he's spent too much time with Flowstick?"          "Probably," I replied, because I found the Transfiguration professor strange, even if she graded fairly. Well, her favourites did get the better marks, but she hated no one.

I'm still never going to like Divination.

     "But are you bored?" Prongs looked at us.          I raised a brow.     James sat up, then explained himself: "Entirely by coincidence, two certain girls seem to be wandering around the castle tonight, which we've been waiting for.", he tapped the map.     I exchanged a glance with Sirius, then we came over to the bespectacled boy. My eyes studied the map and two people were sneaking through one of the corridors.     "Phil and-"          "Lestrange," Padfoot finished my sentence. Meanwhile Peter had joined us as well.     "I wonder what they're doing?" Wormtail wondered aloud and Sirius said: "Some stupid stuff. Maybe they're plotting something, even against us."     "Then I'll repeat my question: are you bored?" asked the bespectacled boy and we all looked at each other.          "I wouldn't mind paying them a visit," Sirius replied, "we'll think of something, show them they've picked a fight with the wrong people."     "Then let's go!" James cheered and jumped off his bed.          I quickly went back to my own bed as well, pulled a jumper over my shirt and slipped into my shoes. While doing so, I felt excitement growing in my stomach.     We thought about what we'd do once we caught up with the two of them. It was obvious that this night wouldn't end well, at least not for one of the two sides. It was time for Phil and Lestrange to get their revenge, because they'd declared war on us.

Phil's POV:

     "It's astonishing how big the castle is," Elizabeth said beside me and currently we were looking out the window.          The sky was dark and cloudy, but the stars could still be seen through the gaps in the clouds. Also the moon.     It was already half full and its light illuminatd the grounds of Hogwarts as well as the Black Lake.          From where we stood we could see the shimmering lake, because we were in a narrow tower. A spiral staircase led upwards and windows were set into the sides. My attention, however, was on the glowing half moon. I had even stopped walking.

As if its calls grow louder with its size. The closer the full moon gets, the easier the transformation becomes for me. Could that be useful somehow?

     "Phil?"      I shook my head and pushed my thoughts aside. My gaze moved to the girl in front of me, who had turned around to look at me on the stairs.     "Sorry..." I mumbled, "let's keep going."          "The moon really is beautiful tonight," Elizabeth said and briefly peeked out the window once more.     It truly was beautiful tonight, the half sphere rising from a thin layer of clouds, surrounded by only a few stars.          "Kind of peaceful."     "Yeah..." I replied, "peaceful...", though I sounded unconvinced. To me the moon had never been a symbol of peace; it was a constant reminder.          "Let's go," I said therefore, not wanting to look at the moon any longer.     To other people it was beautiful, but not to the cursed and their friends. I couldn't imagine Remus' friends ever being able to look at the full moon again without thinking of Remus.     What summers must feel like for the boys, when they can't be with their werewolf friend, I didn't know, but it surely wasn't a good feeling.

Not only the werewolves carry this burden. It's a curse for everyone involved. Do the girls think about me during the full moon?

     "At least there's no classes tomorrow," Elizabeth's voice pulled me from my thoughts and we'd reached the end of the spiral staircase.          "You wanted to explore the castle today," I reminded her that it had been her idea to spend a Friday night wandering around Hogwarts.     Since the Christmas holidays Elizabeth had wanted to learn more about the secret passages. That's why she'd asked me during class what I was doing tonight.     First we'd met at the Astronomy Tower, then I'd shown her the easy passages without passwords, though we constantly had to stay alert for Mrs Norris.          At one point we'd nearly run into Hogwarts' caretaker, but we'd escaped him.     What kind of inner satisfaction Filch got from patrolling the corridors almost every night, I didn't know and honestly didn't want to know either.     "I know it was my idea," Elizabeth picked up my earlier words, "but otherwise you'd be bored right now. Instead you have the honour of spending time with the fabulous Elizabeth Lestrange."          "Anyone who speaks about themselves in third person is very likely insane," I replied dryly, but the girl merely shrugged.     "Or a house-elf," she countered calmly, turned around and continued walking backwards ahead of me, "but I'll take insanity. Come over to the Dark Side with me, Phil, come to mummy." She stretched her hands out towards me.     Only the grin on her lips told me that she was mocking the Dark Side right now. At least I thought she was, because she'd never openly said anything insulting about the Death Eaters.

I don't know what side she's on, I thought while studying her, then I slapped her hands away.

     "Thanks, I'll stay on my side."          "Which is?"     "The Phil side," I answered sternly.          We turned into a corridor that wasn't lit. There would be windows further ahead, so we continued through the darkness.     "Then I'll join the Phil side," Elizabeth declared, "it's probably less exciting there." but she couldn't continue speaking, because without warning something happened.     As we stood in the middle of the darkness, I heard a strange clicking sound from the side, then something metallic rolled over the floor.Immediately a hissing sound followed and my internal alarm bells went off.     "What is-" I tried to say, but a scratching sensation in my throat interrupted me.          A coughing fit shook through me and my eyes started watering. Elizabeth was coughing too.     I instantly knew what was going on;

The Marauders...

     "Zonko's," a cough, "Zonko's smoke bombs," explained the Slytherin.          I held my forearm over my mouth.     The darkness in the corridor contributed absolutely nothing helpful to our situation. Also, we'd walked straight into the Marauders' trap.     Because once the windows provided more light, it was already too late; I couldn't move anymore.          Not because I'd been hexed, no, but because my shoes were glued to the floor.     My eyes kept watering, which meant I couldn't see and for a short while only our coughing could be heard.          "Whaah, what is this?!" Elizabeth yelled and she was entirely herself.     "A magical glue..." Her question was answered the next moment and I looked ahead, where the corridor split into a straight path and one leading right.     The Marauders appeared. Each of them wore a smug grin on their lips.

Of course...

     The smoke vanished and I wiped the tears from my eyes.          "Okay?" Elizabeth said, unwilling to admit in front of Sirius Black that she was getting upset. In front of others she always stayed calm. That's why she acted merely unconvinced.      A game Sirius saw right through. "Well, are you standing comfortably, Lestrange?" he asked mockingly.          My gaze moved to her.     Her legs were spread far apart, meaning she was close to falling into the magical glue. I'd had more luck, because I was standing normally and looking at the boys.     "Don't look so grim, Phil," Remus said to me, "you provoked this."          "That doesn't give you the right to glue us to the floor in the corridor when Filch could come along at any second," I replied.     "Should I scream to speed up the process?" Sirius threatened, his grey eyes gleaming.          James burst out laughing beside him, because back in the alcove I'd threatened the Marauders with exactly that.     There was absolutely nothing I could do against them, which was why I stayed silent, something the boys acknowledged with a nod.          "Good girl," James Potter mocked.

Idiot.

     "But don't take it so seriously," Remus said, "there's a first time for everything. I'm sure you've never been caught by Filch before."          "Exactly," Sirius picked up Remus' words, "so we're not monsters. A bit of detention or cleaning won't hurt you. You should've known what happens when you challenge us."     "Fine," Elizabeth began, "then just leave. I can't stand the sight of your faces anymore."          "I, on the other hand, can very much stand yours, all helpless, Lestrange," Sirius mocked, "but we were just about to leave anyway."     "See you around. Right then," James Potter looked at Peter, "your turn." After those words the blond boy pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small red signal horn.     Before either of us could do anything, he pressed it and a loud tone echoed through the corridor.          "I didn't scream back then!" I snapped at the boys, who were retreating.     "We're not you, dear Phil," Sirius Black said, then the boys disappeared and all we could do was wait for our doom.

Or maybe not?

     Once the boys were gone, Elizabeth untied her shoes, then grumbled: "God, how I hate that mutt! Those shoes were expensive, but maybe they'll end up in the lost-and-found box."          She finished speaking and stood on top of her shoes in her socks, then jumped forward, though landed back in the glue again.     "I, Elizabeth Lestrange, will not get caught by some stupid caretaker, come on, Phil," she demanded and pulled off her socks, stood on the fabric, jumped again and landed on a patch of floor without glue.     I raised my brows, because I hadn't thought we'd free ourselves that quickly.          Quickly, even though Filch could arrive at any second.     Therefore I copied the Slytherin and her mind truly did think of the most absurd ways to escape a situation.

A Lestrange after all?

     Eventually I succeeded and stood barefoot beside the girl.          "I won't forgive them for this." She looked at our socks and shoes, which were stuck fast.     I wanted to say something in return, when a meow made me flinch. That bloody cat Norris appeared beside us and all we could do was run.     Which we did, though we had to split up. Naturally the cat decided to chase me.

Yeah, brilliant...

     My bare feet darted across the floor and I breathed hectically.          I'd had to turn into countless corridors and had just emerged from a secret passage, but unfortunately I was in an area of the castle with very few secret passages, at least that I knew of.     Because of that I had to run through the normal corridors, work my way back to the common room.          I managed it and fate was on my side as well.     Because just when I'd started thinking the boys had won today, four figures suddenly appeared in front of me.          They were talking to each other and Remus was holding their stupid map in front of him.     Stupid, because they'd found us with it today.

But not with me!

     I sped up and ran past Remus, snatching the map out of his hand as I did.     The boys had heard me approaching, but hadn't expected me to run right past them with the map. Panting, I stopped a little further ahead and looked at them.     "A nasty prank," I admitted and looked down at my bare feet, "but you know what? Norris is after me, so after us now, and this map here, I'm keeping it. You know, equal chances for everyone while running away."          I held their stupid map up and looked into horrified faces.     "Phil!" escaped Sirius Black's throat; the boys clearly valued their map.     I, however, couldn't have cared less about it in that moment, which was why I grabbed my legs and ran.          Naturally the boys took up the chase. They wanted their map back, but first they'd have to catch me.     I could run incredibly fast, something I'd already proven to the boys on my very first day at Hogwarts when I'd fled the hospital wing. At that point I'd been weakened though, so now I could show what I was truly capable of.     I turned right into a corridor, then sprinted down a staircase and my heart was pounding in my throat.          Adrenaline rushed through my body.     I couldn't let the boys catch up to me. I jumped down the last seven steps.     Briefly I looked over my shoulder. Only Remus and Peter were still chasing me now, which either meant Sirius and James were fleeing from Filch, or they were trying to corner me.

I don't want to find out.

     So I kept running.          We were high up in the castle, which was why I sprinted down another corridor, after which I reached a staircase. A large room stretched before me, with the stone staircase leading down on the left side and only one exit straight ahead.     I had a problem though, because Sirius and James were coming down exactly that corridor and staircase. I climbed onto the stone railing, because Remus and Peter were coming from behind me. The boys had cornered me.          "Give us the map, Phil!" Remus demanded breathlessly as I slowed down.     "It's over," James added from below and his cheeks were flushed, something visible even in the darkness.

Very poor stamina for a Chaser, Potter.

     "That map is unfair", I raised my voice and turned around.          Remus and Peter stood before me in the dark corridor we'd come from. Sirius and James stood to my right on the staircase.     "Make your own then," Remus calmly shot back.          I furrowed my brows. "You know, I can play unfair too," I continued and behind me there was at least a five-metre drop.     In that moment I thought about the half moon and McGonagall's words. Words that suddenly made so much sense right then. Inside me I felt the key.     A new path appeared wider and I briefly closed my eyes. Once I opened them again, I was already stepping backwards into empty space and losing my footing. My stomach lurched, but I landed unharmed on the ground. It even felt as though I'd merely jumped down a single stair.          It had worked.     Just like my glowing eyes during the full moon with my father had instantly strengthened my senses back then, this ability had now strengthened my body and cushioned my fall.

Yes, Ethan J. Aquila is a dangerous man, but McGonagall was right, something I'll tell her in the next few days.

     "Like I said, unfair!", I shouted up at the boys, who were leaning over the railing. Their mouths hung open, though I no longer looked at them and instead ran away again.

     Some time later I'd shaken off the glorious Marauders and was walking down a corridor.          I'd just come out of another secret passage and thought I could now calmly head, rather jog, back to the common room.     Yes, I thought so, because as I turned around the next corner, I was attacked. Hands clung onto me and I kicked at my attacker, but we both crashed to the floor.          Air escaped my lungs.     Lying on my back, I recognised my attacker: Remus. The boys seemed to have split up across the castle and naturally with my luck I'd run straight into Remus' arms.

Stupid, stupid, stupid...

     "Let go!" I whined because of it, though Remus currently had no intention of doing so. I pushed against his chest, but he was too heavy.          "First the map, Phil!" he forced out and the folded map was tucked into the back waistband of my trousers.     "No!" I shot back and tried to pry his hands off me. My feet moved, though just like back in the snow, the boy above me was stronger.     Of course I could've tried some tricks in that moment, but I didn't want to accidentally hurt Remus, which was why I fought back the normal way.     The cold stone floor pressed against my back. My hands shoved against Remus' chest once more, or at least tried to.          He grabbed my hands and pinned them above my head, while sitting on my middle to stop my attacks with my legs.     "That's unfair too," I sulked and unfair had just become my new favourite word.          "No, unfair would've been if we'd started throwing hexes at you during the chase. One single Leg-Locker Curse and we wouldn't be lying here now," Remus explained his logical conclusion to me, making me roll my eyes.     "You would've had to hit me first with the spell."          "True, you were fast, but the emphasis is on were."     I narrowed my eyes into slits.

Idiot.

     Because of his words I became aware of our position again. Remus was close to me, very close.          "The map, Phil."     Again I shook my head, while feeling the grip around my hands. He held me firmly and gently at the same time and I kept shaking my head.      Audibly Remus inhaled, then removed his left hand from my wrists, while still holding them with his right, and with his left hand reached behind my back.     Of course he knew the map was too big to fit into a trouser pocket. I tried pressing my back harder against the floor, but it was useless, pointless.     Remus' hand searched along my back and beneath my thin jumper touched the surface of the map. He pulled it out and his fingers brushed against my skin, making me hold my breath.

Strange...

     "Thanks for the map," Remus said smugly and looked provocatively down at me.          He tucked it into the back waistband of his own trousers, then straightened his jumper, after which he finally released my hands.Remus didn't get off me though, because our gazes met.     For a while we simply looked at each other and I wondered what kind of picture we must make right now. A picture that represented a new development very well.     "Well, well, look at the little troublemakers!"          Shocked, I looked to the side.     No one other than Filch himself stood in the corridor, his bloody cat in his arms, meowing in agreement.     "Caught them, have we, Mrs Norris, yes, good lady," he praised and stroked the cat beneath her chin, "young people sneaking through the castle together and thinking they can do whatever it is they're doing in the corridor. Immoral behaviour, disgraceful, young people nowadays only think about one thing. A bit of detention will do both of them good, Mister Lupin and Miss?"          "Aquila", I forced out.     Filch began grinning disgustingly. "Miss Aquila and Mister Lupin. Your Head of House will hear about this, ha!" he cackled.          Slowly Remus climbed off me.     He held out his hand to me, which I accepted, because neither of us had expected Filch anymore. He escorted us all the way back to the Gryffindor common room.          The rest of the Marauders were waiting inside.     Firstly they were happy they'd got the map back, and secondly that they wouldn't have detention. All in all the boys had truly started the war now, though it had also been an interesting night.     Thankfully there were no lessons tomorrow, which was why I snuck into my dormitory and disappeared into bed.