The Next Great Adventure (A Marauders Fan Fic)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter Twenty Eight

Sirius crept through the silent hallway, feeling his way cautiously through the darkness. James had taken the cloak so he couldn’t risk lighting his way with his wand and the inky gloom of the castle at night blinded him as effectively as an Instant Darkness Bomb from Zonko’s. He had been working on his Herbology homework when James had slipped out of the portrait hole and he hadn’t come back since then. Now it was nearing midnight and Sirius knew that James had scheduled a Quidditch practice for the next day; he had a fair idea of where the idiot had gone and if he was right James would need to be reminded of the time.

He pushed the heavy door open as gently as possible and slipped into the dark classroom. Moonlight streamed through the windows, chequering the stone floor of the abandoned room with pools of light. Sirius headed towards the other end of the room where he could see James sitting with his legs crossed, his hair illuminated by the moonbeams and the rest of his body painted an unearthly pearl. Just behind him lay the Cloak in a crumpled silver heap, pooling on the floor like tangible moonlight. “Prongs?” he said, his voice echoing in the empty room. “You need to come back to the common room. It’s getting late and you have Quidditch practice tomorrow.”

“In a minute,” James said.

Lily’s red hair fell over her shoulders in waves, the smile which stretched her lips into a glowing crescent moon whose light was reserved for James and James alone illuminating her face; the few freckles which grazed her delicate skin sat on her nose like tiny snowflakes, imperfections which made her perfect. As she looked at James her emerald eyes lit up, love igniting a flame in their depths, flickering in the light as she gazed at him, looking as if she wanted to preserve him and keep him with her forever. James’ eyes travelled down to their entwined fingers, her slender hands anchoring him to her, just as his traitorous heart anchored his soul to hers.

James raised his hand to his reflection, tracing it lightly with his fingers, grazing their tips over Lily’s lips. “She’s so beautiful,” he whispered to himself, forgetting that Sirius was standing there.

“Nah you should probably come now.” Sirius reached where James was sitting and looked at the mirror that they had discovered in their second year; James, absorbed in watching his reflection, didn’t notice Sirius’ double take as he saw who stood opposite him. “Don’t tell me you can see what I think you can,” Sirius said, shaking his head in mock disapproval once he had gathered his wits about him.

“What do you think Padfoot? Did you think that I wouldn’t?” James asked, a slight smirk curving up one corner of his mouth.

“I must admit that I was hoping you’d see something which was a bit manlier,” he said with a bark of self deprecating laughter.

“What do you see then Padfoot?” James asked curiously as he stood up.

“Oh I don’t need a mirror to tell you what I see,” Sirius said, his voice a disconcerting mixture of sadness and happiness. “At first, when I first found it, it was the four of us, all together but we were old-”

“We were old?” James exclaimed in surprise as Sirius half smiled. “Yeah… you looked terrible mate, had hair sprouting out of your ears and everything,” he teased. “We were all grinning and waving with our families around us and we were friends even then but now… Now-” Sirius broke off, his eyes feasting on the sight before him, the image which the mirror was showing him making ecstasy explode inside him, a smile flitting across his lips as he reached out, his fingers following the same journey as James’ a moment before. “Now I see all of us but Cassie is there as well and she’s always smiling, always laughing and she looks at me,” here Sirius turned to James, his eyes imploring his best friend to understand, “and in her eyes I can just see so much love and it makes me so happy but I’m scared at the same time, you know? Is that really my heart’s deepest desire? To have Cassie love me? Because it’s terrifying that I love her so much that she even invades the damned Mirror of Erised!”