Turning Time (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

Secrets, pt. 3

All of the Gryffindor students headed back, as a group, to the common room. Harry, Lily, Raven and Severus lingered at the back, looking out for signs of James, Sirius, and Peter. 

“What’s that?” Raven whispered suddenly, her eyes focusing on a spot a bit before them, where a shoe appeared to be hovering over the ground. 

“It’s one of them!” They’re under the cloak again, Harry thought. 

“Whoever it is, they’re going down that corridor.” The four, acting casual, followed the shoe at a distance as it made its way down the hall, up the stairs, past a group of Hufflepuffs, and into a classroom. They hesitated when they reached the doorway, but Severus pushed ahead into the room. 

“Something’s not right…” muttered Harry, and acting on his instinct, he pointed his wand at the lone shoe at the other end of the unused classroom and said, “Accio shoe!” 

The shoe soared through the air and into Harry’s outstretched hand. “They’re setting us up.” He ran to the door, but it closed before he could reach it. He tried the doorknob. Of course, it was locked. “Alohomora!” he commanded, trying the door again. Nothing. 

“What happened to Lily?” Severus said, concern tightening his features.

She was gone. But Harry couldn’t worry about that now; he had to focus. He surveyed the room again. It wasn’t familiar to him, but he seemed to have a distant memory of the location. 

There were a few posters with numbers and strange symbols on them…which would mean they were in the Arithmancy classroom.

Hermione had told Ron and Harry (despite their lack of interest) about the Arithmancy classroom entrance. It was one of the doors in the school that had to be tickled in the right spot before it could be opened. A student would have to solve something before the class could leave, but the spot was always the same. 

Harry knelt down and searched for a small chink on the door in the bottom left corner. His fingers brushed it lightly, and, with a muffled giggle, it swung open. Lily was outside, resisting an invisible person who let her go as soon as he saw Harry pointed his wand in his direction.

Lily picked up her wand and thanked him.

“Are you okay?” Severus asked urgently. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. That was Peter. He was supposed to guard you and send me to the party. But I wouldn’t go.” 

“The party?” Harry asked.

“That’s what he said. I guess he didn’t want you to be there.” Her green eyes flashed mischievously. “Just imagine the look on James’ face when we get there.” 

They made Peter take them to the party, which was in the Gryffindor Tower. 

“Password?” the Fat Lady asked. 

“Turpis Collectio,” Lily replied, and the portrait hole swung open. 

They were met with a burst of sound. Music blared, and the room was dim, lit only by a few (stolen) candles. People danced, chatted, and most held gently steaming drinks. Glowing pumpkins dotted the corners, grinning toothily at the partiers. Desserts were laid out on the table before the fireplace.

Harry scanned the room and spotted James, in the center of it all, talking animatedly to a group of girls, who laughed loudly. 

“Whoa! What are you doing here?” Sirius stopped in his tracks on his way past them, holding two drinks. 

“We escaped,” Severus replied smugly, before anyone else could respond. 

Sirius frowned, then shrugged. “Oh well.”