𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗹𝘆, james potter

-ˋ 36

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
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-: seventh year :-

── IN WHICH SATURDAY ARRIVES

. . .

James was back to his usual self two days later, his friends letting him be dramatic for a single day to get it out of his system. Occasionally, over the course of the week they would hear him mumble something about it, but that was usually greeted with one of them flicking his forehead or hitting him over the head with whatever book they happened to be holding.

But other than James's disappointment at his almost win (the group had resorted to discarding the word 'loss' altogether - James Potter was far too dramatic), the week following the match that marked the start of the Quidditch Cup was remarkably quiet.

After the fuss that Leo had created with his parents and his actions causing Tiger to become truly free from the rusting shackles of her past, the Buckley boy had returned to avoiding his ex girlfriend at all costs, fearing that something might go wrong if he went near her.

Lily, Marlene and Lydia had all been particularily interesteed in what Leo had done, and from what Tiger had heard, the McKinnon girl had even approached him for a conversation, having decided it would be best to finish whatever their relationship was on a amicable note.

All in all, the school week after the match was totally, and completely in it's entirety, normal. Which was strange, considering Hogwarts. The only remotely interesting thing was that Sirius had discovered a hole in the pipes in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

He had been questioned on why he was in there - considering it was the second floor girls' bathroom, but once finding out that Myrtle had lured him there by pretending to cry like some 'wounded animal' - Sirius's wods - it all made sense. In fact, if you really thought about it, then just mentioning Myrtle was enough.

The ghost had died young, and had a tendecy to go through the pipes and into the boys' bathroom just down the corridoor. She flirted relentlessly with them, and Sirius had fallen victim to this for years.

And when he found this hole, he did a bit of light reading. Again, when asked by a rather shocked Remus, he corrected himself and said that he had gotten the map out (making more sense than him visiting the actual Library) and figured that the pipe connected to the main plumming.

James had then consequently disappeared to Tiger's abandoned classroom and stole one of her catalogues that she used to order things, and ordered enough dye to turn the Black lake actually black. 

After discovering the passageway to Hogsmeade through Honeydukes, the group of friends had become rather close friends with the owners, and so their shop had been where all their deliveries were sent, and James and Sirius would get a letter when it had arrived to go and pick it up.

But after the welcome week of pure normality, the weekend arrived. James and Tiger had informed the others of Dumbledore's decision to set the first meeting on the Saturday, and the normality fizzled out as soon as that morning came.

 An electric excitement had intertwined itself amongst the group of friends, not a single one of them actually talking about the reason behind this feeling - worried that someone they didn't want to know would here - but just carried on with their morning as normal, waiting for some kind of signal.

Then Peter cut open his steak pie at lunch and find a somehow completely clean slip of parchment within it, detailing that they should meet at the Gargoyle statue that hid the stairs up to his office at half past two.

Meeting up outside of Gryffindor common room, the various students who had been asked to go having spent the time remaining trying to get work done around the castle, Tiger and Lily led the group up to the meeting place.

Admittedly, it looked rather suspicious as they settled in the corridor, another waiting nearby. Marlene had a rather dopey grin on her face as she waved at Dorcas Meadowes, who was stood by Alice Fortescue and Frank Longbottom, as well as a couple other Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. 

"Good evening." Dumbledore appeared rather suddenly, glancing between the two groups. "I am glad none of you choked on my note." He began. "As you will all be able to guess, my office is not fit for such lessons, and so I have arranged an alternate space. Follow me."

The headmaster gave no other explanation as he turned, heading away from his office with the two groups merging and following after him, twisting down various corridors and passing gazes of wondering students.

When finally they came to a stop outside of a pair of double doors, which both Tiger and James, Sirius andd Remus were sure lead to a storage cupboard (in which both couples had made out in at varying times). 

But then Dumbledore pushed open the doors, a small smile on his face. "Welcome. This is where we will meet  for each meeting. Every other student will still believe this as a storage cupboard, and it must stay that way. Anyone who finds otherwise will be subsequently removed and have his or her memories of this organisation replaced. It sounds harsh, but it is a necessary precaution. 

And as the group stepped through the doors, one thing was for sure.

It certainly wasn't a storage cupboard anymore.

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a/n
tysm for 900k!!
thank you for reading so
far it, means the world <333