Sixth-Year Boys' Dormitory

The sixth-year boys' dormitory in Gryffindor Tower was a complete mess, full of the chaos of returning to school.

Four trunks lay haphazardly open like gaping mouths.

A quill had rolled under a bed, socks hung over the back of a chair, and a bottle of ink still stood uncapped, giving off a faint smell.

Two broomsticks lay across the sides of the beds.

As he spoke, James grabbed a pillow and threw it at Sirius across from him. "Professor McGonagall's expression was priceless. I'd bet she's already thought of a hundred ways to have Filch torture us."

The pillow somersaulted through the air and hit its target dead on.

Sirius caught it and threw it back without expression. "Well, thanks a lot, Fork. I was hoping to finish the first week's homework before Saturday. Thanks to you, we'll probably be watching the sunrise over Hogwarts again."

James put on an innocent expression. "Come on, Padfoot. You should thank me for getting you out of that."

Sirius yanked a pile of messy clothes from his trunk and tossed them into the wardrobe. "Out of what? With that filthy mouth of yours, it's no wonder Evans won't even look at you. How many times has she rejected you now? Eighty?"

James's expression immediately fell. "Seventy-nine, all right? Today she only rejected the flowers I gave her, that doesn't count. Besides, she talked to me today!"

Sirius pretended to sound sympathetic. "Oh, really? Shall I remind you? 'Potter, you're an idiot. Stay away from me.' That doesn't count as a conversation? And she warned you she'd tell Professor McGonagall if you flirted with first-years. Why don't you write that down in your stupid notebook too?"

James straightened his back, though his voice was clearly uncertain. "She'll change her mind. This year will definitely be my lucky year."

Lupin sat on the edge of his bed, already changed into pajamas. Holding a copy of Advanced Transfiguration, he helplessly helped the others go over tomorrow's class material.

"Stop arguing, you two. Before the first day of term has even arrived, we've already lost twenty points. Gryffindor's hourglass is nearly empty."

Peter came out of the washroom, still drying his face with a towel. "By the way, did you see the new Ravenclaw? The one from the Crouch family?"

Sirius paused for a moment, pretending to focus on tidying his things.

Lupin closed his book. "Lucretia, right? I heard Mr. Crouch adopted her."

Peter jumped onto his bed and pulled out a packet of Liquorice Wands from beneath his pillow. "When I went to wash up, I heard loads of people talking about her. Everyone's wondering how she ended up being adopted by that big shot at the Ministry of Magic."

Sirius's tone turned stiff. "It's all boring gossip. Who cares?"

James's eyes shifted, and he looked at Sirius with a mischievous grin. "Exactly, who cares? Right, Padfoot?"

Sirius glared at him and hurled an unopened tin of broom polish at James's leg. "Shut up, James! Haven't you caused enough trouble already?"

Peter took a bite of his Liquorice Wand. His eyes lit up, but he quickly hid his excessive interest.

"So what Fork said was true? You really like her?"

Sirius rolled his eyes.

He snorted. "I was just amused by her brother's face, like he wanted to punch someone. Didn't you see it? That Crouch looked ready to start casting spells at those Ravenclaw girls at any moment."

Peter nodded, something else flashing in his eyes. "That's true. I heard his father has arrested quite a few people at the Ministry of Magic... He has a lot of power now."

Lupin watched Peter's expression. "You're very interested in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"

Peter shrugged. "Er, I just heard some things. The Daily Prophet said lots of people are afraid of Mr. Crouch."

Sirius snorted disdainfully. "It's nothing. Last week, The Daily Prophet reported that the head of the Department of Magical Transportation was attacked by a Muggle vacuum cleaner. It was obviously just something for cleaning, but they had to write it up as some Dark Magic device that could suck out souls."

Lupin couldn't help laughing. "And they included a picture of the head screaming as he ran out of his office. Remember?"

James rolled his eyes. "My mum seriously asked whether Hogwarts had any anti-vacuum spells. The paper's getting more ridiculous by the day."

Peter giggled. "But seriously, you've heard about Mr. Crouch's new policy too, haven't you? I heard he's going to reorganize the Werewolf Registry and tighten control."

Lupin stiffened slightly.

Sirius glanced at Lupin and cut Peter off. "All right, stop talking about that. We've only just got back to school. Why bring this up?"

James picked up the thread. "Let's talk about something interesting, like the misery of Padfoot's and my detention. Lily even threatened to write to my mum."

Lupin visibly relaxed and said with a smile, "Oh, Evans cares about you. A true miracle of the world."

Peter burst out laughing. "I heard this was the eightieth time she rejected you?"

James sat up and emphasized, "Seventy-nine! Why can't any of you remember that number? I keep a special record!"

Sirius yawned and leaned back against his bed. "Because there are too many to count. Seriously, you should give up."

James lay back down, hugging his pillow to his chest. "Never give up. That's the Potter family motto."

The corner of Lupin's mouth curled up as well. "I thought the Potter family motto was troublemaker."

Peter paused, then asked as if casually, "By the way, how's our map coming along? I remember we were still stuck on that tracking charm before summer."

The three of them immediately exchanged glances, though only for a moment.

Then James hugged his pillow again, Lupin resumed turning pages, and Sirius finished his yawn.

Peter was still absorbed in chewing his Liquorice Wand, completely unaware.

James answered casually, "We've made some progress. But that tracking function is too complicated. Moony spent ages looking through material in the Restricted Section. We'll probably need to work on it a while longer."

Peter asked eagerly, "Can I help with anything? I mean, I can turn into a rat and scout out some passages..."

Sirius yawned again. "Finish this week's Transfiguration Class homework first. When Professor McGonagall gets angry, she's much scarier than the Marauder's Map."

Lupin agreed and glanced at the clock. "True. It's getting late. We have Transfiguration Class tomorrow."

Peter looked somewhat disappointed, but he did not insist. "All right. Oh, Professor Sprout said last year that she'd teach us Bouncing Bulbs this term. I heard they're disgusting."

A few minutes later, all four of them began getting ready for bed.

James was the last to turn off the light. "Good night, lads. I'm turning in first."

In the darkness, Sirius turned onto his side and looked out the window.

From this angle, he could vaguely see the other side of the castle, where a tower stood with several lights still on.

Lupin's voice sounded in the dark, quiet enough that almost only Sirius could hear it. "Don't think about it."

Sirius did not answer.

He merely adjusted his pillow and turned over, facing away from the window.