Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 172: Keeping an Eye
"I'm telling you, that is not a date." James adjusted his robes and looked at himself in the mirror.
Remus was sitting on the bed and glancing at him with an amused expression. "Well, you should still have fun."
"I'm so envious… I want a girlfriend too…" Peter looked down.
"I don't have a girlfriend," James responded. He did have a fiancée, though.
"Then perhaps you should try talking to some girls," Remus suggested.
"The other day I saw Liora Honeywick staring at you during Charms."
"Liora? That redhead girl from Hufflepuff?" Peter became interested.
"That one!" Remus grinned.
James glanced at Sirius. The boy was lying on his bed, reading some magazine with a grumpy expression.
"What's gotten you so upset?"
Sirius put down the magazine and glared at him. "Why do you think I'm upset?... You ended the game in five minutes!" He pointed at James with his finger.
"So you're angry because you didn't get to show off your skills?" James raised an eyebrow. "Seems kinda selfish, don't you think? The team won."
"I'm not saying that I didn't want to win, just… you could have waited a bit longer." Sirius huffed.
"I do that, and the Slytherin Seeker takes the Snitch—then what?"
The truth was that James just wanted to end the game quickly, but his point was still valid.
"Yeah, I get it…" Sirius went back to his magazine.
"Well…" James checked himself in the mirror once more. "I should get going then. What are the rest of you going to do? Any plans?"
The boys shared a look with each other.
"Not much, just hang around," Peter said.
"I may work a bit more on the map. I think I'm getting close to finishing it," Remus commented.
"I have some plans with Marleen later on," Sirius responded.
James had the feeling that they were hiding something from him. But then again, he couldn't exactly blame them. After all, he was hiding many things from them.
He still hadn't told them that this year was going to be his last, because he got expelled. James was waiting for the right moment to do that, since he knew they would be very disappointed when they learned about it.
"See you guys later."
James took his leave from the dormitory after saying his goodbyes and promising to see them later.
Remus, Peter, and Sirius remained in the room in silence, listening to the sound of James's steps getting farther away.
Once they could no longer hear him, they looked at each other.
"Are we really going to follow him and Lily?" Peter asked to make sure.
"Of course we are! I cannot miss this," Sirius said.
"It still feels wrong… he's our friend. We should not be spying on him," Remus added.
"We're not spying. This is for his own good," Sirius insisted. "Look… when it comes to girls, James is a bit clumsy. I don't want him to ruin his relationship with Lily."
"What is there to ruin? I don't think James is in love with her anymore… he barely spoke with her this year," Remus said.
"Yeah… remember last year? He asked her out like fifty times. It was getting kinda embarrassing to watch," Peter commented.
"I know…" Sirius muttered. He did know this for a fact since he spoke with James directly. And he also knew about James's engagement.
"He has changed, but that's all the more reason to check on him."
"I don't know, mate," Peter said.
"Do you have anything better to do? Ah, but before I forget, I need to bring my girlfriend with us." Sirius stood up from the bed.
"Wait, that part was true?" Peter looked shocked.
"You want to bring your girlfriend to spy on James and Lily?" Remus couldn't believe it.
Sirius chuckled. "It's okay. Marleen is a gossip. She'll love the idea, I can promise you that."
Remus and Peter shared a look.
<><><><><><><><><><>
"This is so exciting!" Marleen peeked from behind a column.
Sirius turned to Remus and Peter. "See?"
"Ah! They are going out of the castle," Peter pointed out.
"Hurry, but keep the distance." Sirius covered himself with his cloak and grabbed Marleen's arm. "Let's go like this. This way, we can pretend to be a normal couple walking to Hogsmeade."
"We are a normal couple walking to Hogsmeade…" Marleen reminded him.
"What about me and Peter?" Remus pointed at himself.
"You…" Sirius moved his eyes between them. "May wanna walk a bit further behind."
<><><><><><><><><>
While the group of friends stalked James and Lily, they failed to realize that two more groups had the same idea as them.
A bit further behind, Bella, Andromeda, and Narcissa were also walking at a slow pace, while keeping an eye on them.
And still near the castle was a large group of senior students.
Lucius Malfoy was no longer playing around, and this time he had brought everyone he could with him.
"Potter is not going to get away this time…"
Lucius did a good job of keeping his emotions in check, despite the fact that he was looking forward to seeing the look of despair on his face.
The truth was that he had never forgotten the humiliation Potter had inflicted on him months ago. Today, he was finally going to get his payback… with interest.
Overlooking the passage to Hogsmeade was a small forest and several tall hills that covered the area.
Much to the ignorance of everyone present, on top of a snowy peak was a black crow with red eyes, observing everything that was happening below.
Its unnatural eyes had become fixated on James Potter since the moment he left the castle.
The creature waited until it was sure James was going in the direction of the village before it took flight at great speed.
It had a very important message to report to its Master.
A.N: - Remember to comment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it.
You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. You can also find characters images to view for free in Collections/Invincible Stage Images
-patreon.com/Kriogenix
For donations and commissions, go to ko-fi.com/kriogenix