Mischief Managed!

19.

Flinging aside the invisibility cloak, the boys gently set their Stunned hostage on the floor, and peered inside the room. James quickly looked away, horrified. It was muchworse than they had originally suspected. A look from Sirius made it evident that he concurred: from the disgusted but rather delicate wrinkling of his nose, James could tell his best friend had seen way too much skin for his liking.

"Scummy with his pants down," Sirius muttered darkly, as if his darkest nightmare had been revealed. Not one to lack a sense of irony, he added, "Now who on earth was expecting that one?"

James rubbed his forehead tiredly. "What are we going to do, Padfoot?"

"Very simple, Prongs. We get Lily up here, and show her-"

James froze. How on Earth did Sirius expect to pull that one off? James supposed they'd have to kidnap her, and bring her up here, and... and break her heart. James' face visibly fell (if it was possible for it to fall anymore, that is).

James was shaking his head, looking both noble and resolute. "No. She doesn't need to know," he decided firmly. "Lily's had enough to deal with at the moment, without thisgetting around. It's not fair to her, Sirius."

Sirius gazed at James in shock, and noticed for the first time the absence of the famous mischievous sparkle in James' hazel eyes. Sirius frowned, tapping his chiseled nose. He had known, of course, that being Head Boy would inevitably change his friend, but to such an extent he had not expected.

Who was this mature young man and what had he done to the juvenile Marauder everyone knew, admired and loved?

Growing up was much too messy, Sirius Black decided. He sighed, reluctantly, before nodding.

"All right. You know best, I suppose."

With a further flick of his wand, he murmured 'Mobilicorpus' and the unconscious Rita was pulled into a standing position, hovering in the air like a life-sized marionette, her arms and legs both erect and limp, as if dangling from invisible strings. Managing a ghost of a grin at the comical, puppet-like girl dangling before him, Sirius set off down the stairs: a strange procession, if James had ever seen one.

Biting his lip, James gently closed the Astronomy Door. With the sound of the door closing (ever so gently) the Quick Quotes Quill dropped idle to the parchment. Curiosity got the better of James, and he bent down to examine it. His eyes scanned the page quickly, his mouth drawing a tight, taught line across his mouth.

"But what about Lily?" the girl protested weakly.

The look on her face told a different story:

one of deep attraction and seduction.

There was a fire in her eyes, and that fire burned for him,

and him alone.

"She doesn't mean a thing," he replied resolutely,

sweeping her into his embrace. "You're the one I love, Felicity. Truly."

She bit her lip, and suddenly, it was as if all doubts had been expelled from

her body. She smiled at him, and he watched her, enchanted,

as if seeing her for the first time.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered softly, light fingers brushing her face

in an unprecedented show of tenderness.

Felicity visibly melted, her eyes shining as he bent forward over her,

possessing himself of her cheeks and kissing her soft, firm mouth...

James shuddered, traumatized, and quickly rolled the parchment up. It reminded him, strongly and repulsively, of one of his mother's silly romances. Except that his mother's silly romances had at least featured noble, generous men and humble, beautiful heroines - nothing like this clichéd Scamander trash. And how, James wondered, had Rita documented it? Revulsion returned as he considered the possibility of her sitting alone on that landing, peering into the doorway and dictating the entire thing. No, surely not?

James shook his head ruefully. As if today couldn't get any better.

Having discovered an unpleasant surprise with the parchment meant James was even more reluctant to examine what appeared to be titled Rita's Book of Evidence. Still, if he was going to protect Lily from this hideous mess, he'd best know what he was in for... James picked up the book delicately, and peeled open the first few pages. And then the next few, and the few after that... He snapped it shut with disbelief, and the sound from inside the Tower faltered momentarily. Hastily remembering that he was not alone, James flung the cloak back around himself, disappearing from sight. A hand shot out of thin air, speedily gathered up the parchment, book and camera, and vanished again, light footsteps hurrying down the stairs in pursuit of Sirius.

As he negotiated the school, doing his best to dodge the stray students he happened across every now and then, James' mind wandered back to the monstrous book clasped in his hands, His head throbbed with anger at the extent of Art's betrayal. The moving array of images, supplemented with what appeared to be flowery transcripts of every single event, depicted in great and terrible detail Art's wooing of (from what James had seen) at least seven other girls since the 6th of October last year: otherwise known as the great and terrible day that Lily Evans had become Art Scamander's girlfriend.

The door of the Room of Requirement opened, and Sirius looked up.

"Where have you been?" he asked briskly. "It took me a while to imagine up this room, and then you didn't come back, so... I think we should probably re-enervate her before she goes loopy."

He gestured to the slumped figure on a lounge across the room.

James' mouth was drawn tight, and he thrust the book into Sirius hands. "I think you'd better see this one, first."

Sirius' eyes widened increasingly as he progressed further and further through the book. The movement of pages was like a persistent slashing at the silence that permeated the room.

Finally, Sirius closed the back cover, and removed the book from his vicinity gingerly, and with great distain.

"Well," was all he said. He made an effort to sound businesslike, but James seemed unaffected. He stared at Rita, a frown line cut across his forehead, as if she was the most loathsome creature on the planet.

Then, suddenly, James seemed to remember something.

"Before I forget - what was that letter about?" he asked casually.

Sirius choked, and James stared at him. Once again, Sirius' handsome face had paled dramatically. Coughing, he mumbled something into his jacket.

James frowned. He could have sworn it was something about Uncle Alfalfa dying? But why did Sirius care?

His attitude had always been the less Blacks in the world, the better for us all... James really couldn't understand it. Shaking his head, he set it from his mind. Padfoot would obviously talk about it when he was ready to. And for now, there were much more pressing matters. Like what on earth were they going to do with Rita?

James stood up. One thing was sure: they needed Remus and Peter, and they needed them now.