The Missing Marauder: A Harry Potter FanFiction

Chapter 6

Two months later...

"Sirius Black, are you trying to convince me that you did not cast an illegal hex on Bertram Aubrey with Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked, staring down at him in disbelief.  

"No," Sirius replied, standing up, "I am trying to convince you that it was not James's fault and that I alone made poor Bertram's head grow twice its size. Prongs-I mean James just so happened to be there at the time."  

"But, Mr. Black, that is not what Bertram said," McGonagall pointed out, "And that is not what Potter said, either. Bertram said that you both did it, Potter said that he did it, and now you're trying to convince me that you did it alone. So, who is it I should believe?"  

"Well, it doesn't really matter who you choose to believe, because no matter what at least one of us is getting punished," Sirius said.  

"So, are you telling me that I should punish you both?" McGonagall suggested, "Because I am perfectly willing to do that."  

"No. I am telling you that you should just punish me, but if you think you must then go right ahead."  

"Well, I think I must," she said, "Would you please open the door and let Aubrey and Potter in?"  

Sirius shrugged and walked to the door to open it.  

"What's the verdict, Padfoot?" James asked, smiling hopefully.  

"I'm sorry to say it, mate," Sirius replied, "But we're both in trouble. Again."  

"Oh, come on, Lily," Rowan whispered as she stowed some books onto the top of one of the many bookshelves in the library. "That's ridiculous. Why would Sirius do that?"  

"Don't shoot the messenger," Lily defended, "I heard it from Alice, who heard it from Frank, who heard it from Peter, who heard it from Remus, who heard it from Sirius himself as he and James were being dragged away by their ears."  

"I will shoot the messenger for telling me this during my detention," Rowan threatened, "I'll get into even more trouble if the librarian catches me talking to you."  

"What did you do, exactly?"  

"Out past curfew with Sirius," she replied, "He tried to help me get out of there but the gamekeeper caught us. What's that guy's name again? Hagrid?"  

"I think so," Lily muttered, "Rubeus Hagrid, I think."  

"Well, he didn't really mean to catch us," Rowan explained, "It was sort of an accident; we were hiding behind a bunch of these huge pumpkins and he came out and sort of yelled in surprise, and his voice carries a lot, so the Slytherin Prefects who were following us knew exactly where to find us in the dark."  

"Well didn't Sirius get punished?" Lily asked.  

"Yes," Rowan replied, "He had to write about a million lines yesterday while I'm stuck here, sorting out every single book in this part of the library, and tomorrow I'm stuck with the restricted section. Once it's all fixed, I'm free, but until then I have to keep doing this until the library is absolutely perfect."  

"But that's nearly impossible," Lily said, "Everybody goes to the library and everybody takes books off the shelves. That's the most ridiculous detention I've ever heard of."  

"I know," Rowan agreed, "They're trying to get it into my head not to be as much of a troublemaker as my boyfriend. For him, they know it's hopeless so they just keep giving him a variety of different punishments to see if any of them will work."