The Patronus Charm- A Lily and James Fanfiction

Chapter Thirty-Two: Wait!? I'm the Backup?!

"What?" I ask.

"Sirius said, 'she's gonna kill me when she finds out. I better plan my funeral early. James, would you be the preacher?'"

"That would likely be the best funeral that I ever go to."

James groans and sits down on the arm of the couch. "What's worse is that if I don't find a replacement by tomorrow's game, then we'll have to forfeit."

"James, we have a backup player for seeker." Alice declares.

"Who?"

"Wow, Sirius always claimed that you were slow, James. I never actually agreed until now." Remus laughs.

"Lily is the replacement."

"What?" I gasp. "Since when have I been the backup?"

"Erm, since I signed you up?" Alice says nervously.

"Perfect. I'll go find the rest of the team. Alice, you and Lily ought to be able to find some robes that fit her. Also, make sure all the blockers fit, if not then meet me and we'll ask Professor McGonagall for a brief trip to Hogsmeade."

Alice grabs my arm and pulls me out of the Head's dorm and into the corridor. The hallway is brightly lit, but the air is cold. "Blast these old castles." Alice mutters.

I roll my eyes. I grab my wand and cast two warming charms. "You'd think that being a witch means you'd think like one."

"That's not very nice!" she accuses.

"Who said I was nice?"

We walk in silence through the corridors. Most of the students are back in their common rooms, trying to stay warm. I don't blame them, if I had the option. I'm sure I'd be there too.

Finally, we make it to the Quidditch cupboards just before the doors that lead towards the pitch. Four cupboards are lined up against the wall. One for each house. I move to open ours, but stop and frown. "Alice, something looks wrong with the lock." The lock looks warped and is sitting at an unusual angle, almost as if it was floating.

Alice leans closer to the lock. "This isn't the lock that James set. I was here last time he set it." Her face darkens. "I think someone's been tampering with our equipment."

"When was the last time that you guys opened it?" I ask.

"I guess they would have tonight, to get the balls."

"What spells did James use to lock it?"

Alice shakes her head. "I honestly don't know. James doesn't want everyone on the team to know, incase someone overheard a conversation or told someone that they shouldn't have."

I shrug, "fair enough." I look at the lock for a moment. It just doesn't look right. "Send a Patronus to James. Tell him to get down here." I pull out my wand. "If someone tampered with it, they might still be nearby."

Alice casts her Patronus and it disappears down the corridors. "I hope James hurries."

"Oh, he will." I say confidently.

"Why? Oh, right! Quidditch is the love of his life."

I scowl at her.

"Erm, I meant after you, of course." Alice amends.

James sprints into the corridor. He walks up to the cupboard and stares at the lock. "What the hell? This isn't the lock."

"Should we try to get in?" Alice questions.

"I think it should be safe enough. I mean it doesn't seem to be too dangerous." I say cautiously.

James nods. "I agree." He points his wand at the lock. "Expulso!"

The lock explodes into dust. I sigh. "The only problem with that, James, is now we can't tell what spells were used."

James shakes his head. "Lils, I'm more concerned that our stuff is still there, rather than what spells were used on it." James reaches out towards the door.

"Wait! I don't think that's a good i-"

James jerks his hand back with a hiss as it makes contact with the door. Large red boils form on his hands. "Damn."

Carefully, I grab his wrist and study the boils. "Are you allergic to anything, James?"

"No."

"Why don't we open it with magic?" Alice demands.

"There might be spells that be dangerous, if we use magic, we might trigger something." James says. His eyes are dark with frustration. "Damn whoever did this!"

I look at the seemingly harmless wooden cupboard. "Does anyone have gloves on them?"

James removes his worn Quidditch gloves out of his pocket and passes them to me. I shove my tiny hands into his massive gloves and grab the door.

The cupboard is completely empty.

James starts swearing, while Alice asks sadly, "what would anyone want with Mr. Tibs?"

"Mr. Tibs?" I ask in disbelief. "Did you name your broom or something?"

"NO! He's our mascot. He always sits in the cupboard with our balls."

"It's a plush animal, Lily. Alice's cousins Fabian and Gideon claimed that it brought us good lucky. Honestly, I don't think it made a bloody difference." James states.

"How dare you! He's our loyal mascot! We must get him back!" Alice shrieks.

James raises a hand. "Either way, we have to get Lily some gear. I think we'll be sneaking out to Hogsmeade."

"James! I can't... We can't. We're Heads."

"Lily, Gryffindor is depending on us. If we lose this game against Ravensclaw, we'll have to score insane amounts of points to catch up to Slytherin. They're actually good this year."

"Alright, let's do it." I say determinedly.

"There's that look," Alice says. "She's not going to stop until we get this solved."

"I have a feeling that once we figure out who has our gear, they'll be in for a nasty Marauders' prank. I'll join in that prank." I declare.

James laughs. "On that case, I'll get the rest of the Marauders to get looking, since we're the kings of finding things that people don't want found."

The Marauders are on the case. This won't take long.