Study Date | James Potter

Chapter 38 - "Live A Little"

The next morning, seven owls bearing red, smoking letters, swooped into the Great Hall and converged on the Gryffindor table: one each for James, Remus, Peter, Marlene, Dorcas, Alice and Tina. The group exchanged a tired glance, then all of them ripped open the envelopes at the same time.

"JAMES FLEAMONT POTTER AND SIRIUS I AM ABSOLUTELY APPALLED-"

"-THAT YOU COULD BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE MARLENE-"

"-PETER WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING-"

"-YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER DORCAS-"

"-NEED TO BE FOCUSING ON YOUR NEWTS, ALICE-"

"-REMUS LUPIN. YOUR FATHER AND I ARE VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU-"

"-VALENTINA NEWMAN DO YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS-"

The voices overlapped, creating a cacophony of screams. Every single person in the Hall had their ears covered, and when the Howlers finally finished, ash showered over the section of the Gryffindor table occupied by the recipients.

James sighed and his head drooped onto his folded arms. Rose looked down at her porridge, now grey, and pushed the bowl away, leaning over to brush ash out of his hair, which was messier than usual.

"You know what though mate?" Sirius prodded James's arm after shaking his head to remove his own ash.

James didn't lift his head. "What?"

"That's the first Howler we've had this year! And I'm pretty sure it's probably the most Howlers that have ever been in the Great Hall at once," he grinned, then sneezed violently.

"Bless you," said Remus. "And don't you remember when we ordered a Howler for each of the teachers at breakfast in fourth year? There was something like fifteen of them."

"Oh yeah I forgot about that one... we still broke the record though. "

"Well we certainly broke the record for most students drunk and out of bed in one night," Rose smirked at Lily, whose head was also in her hands.

"Don't remind me," she groaned.

"What? Not even about your amazing dancing?"

"Rose Evans if you say one more word I will take a note from your own book, climb over this table, and punch you in the face."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Now you throwing a punch is something I'd pay to see."

"Right that's it."

Lily started to stand, but was pulled back down to her seat by Remus and Alice either side of her.

"Honestly girl, do you want even more detentions?" Marlene asked Lily from across the table.

"What I want is for everyone to shut up," she grumbled, covering her bloodshot eyes with her hands.

Cara passed her a vial across the table, and Lily downed it in one gulp then finally looked up properly. "What the hell was in that? I feel more alive than I have in days."

The Hufflepuff girl laughed as she took the empty vial back. "Just a signature Hufflepuff hangover potion. I grabbed a few from the common room. Does anybody else want one?"

There were murmurs of assent, and soon the others in the group were feeling a lot more refreshed. Rose felt her appetite return, and used her wand to vanish the ash on the food and table.

"So," Sirius frowned as he dug into a plate filled with food, "Why didn't you get a Howler from your parents?" He asked, pointing his fork at Cara accusingly.