The Missing Marauder: A Harry Potter FanFiction

Chapter 5

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry, Rowan?" Lily asked as she sat at the foot of her bed, waiting for her friend to finish dressing.  

"How about once more and then ask me in ten minutes," she replied sourly, buttoning her tight grey vest over her white undershirt.  

"I'm sorry," Lily apologized, "I'm sorry times ten, okay? Is that good enough for you, Rowan?"  

She sighed as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her red bangs fell into her face while the rest of her smooth hair was in a half ponytail. Her murky green eyes gazed back at her through long, thick black lashes with red tints. As she stared into them, she saw just a hint of red around the pupils. Her eyelids were sort of heavy, since she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Her face was oval shaped with freckles dotted at random on her narrow but strong cheeks. She had an upturned nose, a wide-jaw (that had a tendency to jerk to one side when she was being stubborn) and a small chin. All the guys considered her beautiful, but all she saw was a normal, fifteen year-old girl. She had a striped scarlet and gold tie on, tucked under the tight vest. She wore her favorite pair of jeans, and she turned to get her sneakers beside the chest at the end of her bed.  

As she put them on and tied them, she replied, "Yes, Lily. That's good enough for me. Just don't insult Sirius in front of me again, alright? You don't see me insulting Snivel-I mean Severus-in front of you."  

"Cross my heart and hope to die," she said, happily.  

"Great," said Rowan, standing up. "Come on, now. The girls are waiting for us in the common room."  

They left their room and found a group of girls sitting by the fireplace.  

"You ready to go?" Lily asked them, and they all stood and turned immediately, smiling and nodding, with the occasional, "Yup."  

Together, there were nine of them, all fifth years. The plan was to walk around the Black Lake to get to Hogsmeade, have a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, get some treats at Honeydukes, look at new arrivals to Zonkos Joke Shop, buy a few new shirts at Gladrags, get some extra quills at Scrivenshafts, and then turn around and have a look at the Shrieking Shack.  

Leaving through the portrait, they ran into-who else?-Sirius, standing outside the entrance.  

"Hey," he greeted normally, leaning against the wall, wearing jeans and a white button-up shirt. His dark hair was untidy as ever, but his fathomless grey eyes revealed that he was planning something mischievous.  

"Hey," Rowan greeted a bit suspiciously, "What's up?"  

"Not much," he replied, shrugging, "You?"  

"The girls and I are walking down to Hogsmeade," she explained, crossing her arms, "It's too bad you can't come, what with your being banned."  

"Who says I can't go?" he asked.  

"Professor McGonagall," Lily replied, straining to keep the annoyance out of her voice.  

"So?" He pushed off the wall, hands in pockets, and stepped toward them. "What's life without a little risk?"  

"I don't want to see you get caught," Rowan muttered.  

"Who says I'm going to get caught?" he asked. Seeing Lily about to speak, he put up his index finger and said, "Don't answer that."  

"Sirius-" Rowan began.  

"No, trust me," Sirius interrupted, "Unless I make some sort of klutzy move, which is not likely to happen, I never get caught."