Mischief Managed | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 62

An uproar of celebration rang through Jenna's ears and she felt like the happiness was going to explode in her heart any moment now. As she struggled to sit up from the ground with the Golden Snitch still clutched in his hand, Mei flew down and landed beside her, offering Jenna a hand and helping her to her feet.

     Jenna could almost hear James's voice in the crowd, bellowing, "YES! THAT'S MY SISTER!"

    Mei then took a hold of Jenna's wrist and raised her hand up in victory. The crowd clapped even harder and Jenna laughed in happiness. The rest of the team players landed on the ground as well, patting Jenna on the shoulder proudly and congratulating each other for the win.

     "We've got a big party coming up in the common room, Captain," said Micheal Collins — the Gryffindor Keeper — as they were making their way back toward the locker room.

    "Of course. As always." Mei nodded delightfully, grinning. She then turned to face Jenna, who was practically glowing with glee. "You kids are free to join, you know."

    "We definitely will. Thanks." Jenna smiled brightly, unable to wait to go back to her friends and celebrate the victory with them. Specially her brother.

    Jenna walked up to the Gryffindor tower along with the rest of her team after changing out of her Quidditch robes. The moment they opened the portrait of the Fat Lady, the loud sound of music and celebration blew out, everyone chanting, "GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR!"

     Jenna was yanked inside by several hands who pulled at her sleeves, too dazed from happiness to grasp on what was going on around her.

     "You did it, Jen! I knew you could do it!" Marlene almost yelled through the loud sound of music as Alice and Lily took turns in hugging her tightly.

     "We'll go get something for you to eat. You must be hungry," said Lily, moving toward the snack table with the other girls.

     Jenna made a move to follow them, but it was James and Sirius who came forward next, looking happier than anyone else in the room. Only now Jenna realized that they both had written 'Gryffindor' on their faces in red.

     James wrapped an arm around Jenna's shoulder as he chanted along with the others, his Gryffindor tie wrapped around his head like a headband.

     "You did great today," said Sirius, grinning at Jenna's direction.

     "Oh... thanks." Jenna nodded at him with appreciation as she smiled, trying to keep her hair blue and preventing it from turning pink.

     She then cleared her throat, now turning to look at James. "So where are Peter and Remus?"

     "Peter's getting something to eat, and Remus said he wanted to take a nap upstairs. He didn't look very well during the match, and he —" James was saying, but he came to a halt as the realization hit him.

    He looked over at Sirius, and by the expression on his face, James knew that he had realized it too.

    "So... er..." James took his arm off from Jenna's shoulder. "I'm sure you'd want to celebrate with your friends, J.P. Don't let us keep you waiting."

    "Okay..." Jenna glanced between the two suspiciously, before giving them a small wave. "I'll see you guys around."

     "Bye." James smiled at his sister, but the moment she was gone from sight and had returned to her own friends, James briskly turned toward Sirius, his smile dropping as he said in a hushed tone, "Are you thinking about what I'm thinking?"

     "I'm pretty sure I'm thinking about what you're thinking." Sirius nodded firmly, his mind racing. "How much you wanna bet that Remus is not taking a nap in the dorm right now?"

     "I'm gonna bet my arms and legs. That's how sure I am," said James darkly. "Let's go get Peter. This bloody mystery ends tonight."

     With that, the two boys strode toward where Peter was standing by the snack table, trying a bit of everything.

     "C'mon, Peter. We're leaving," said Sirius, yanking at the boy's sleeve.

     "But — but — the food —" Peter tried to say desperately, but he knew that when Sirius and James set their mind on something, there was no use trying to speak them out of it or even try to postpone the plan for even a few minutes.

    James ran up the spiral staircase which led them to the boys' dormitory, skipping two steps at a time with Sirius and Peter right behind him. He entered through their room's door, and as expected, Remus was nowhere to be found.

     "I knew there was a pattern here," said James thoughtfully, looking around the room as though searching for clues of a crime. "Remus gets sick around once a month. He suddenly goes missing for a day or two. He comes back looking worse. And then, he has the audacity to lie and say he'd gone to visit his sick mother. But the question is, where does he actually go each time and why?"

     "I really don't think we should butt in on this," said Peter nervously. "I mean, if Remus wanted us to find out, he would've told us himself."

     "Peter, Remus comes back each time with new wounds on his face. Aren't you worried about him?" Sirius questioned with a frown. "What if he's in danger?"

     "I am worried about him. I really am. But — but maybe there's a reason why he doesn't want us to find out. How can we even find out? I mean... no one seems to know about it around here. Even if the teachers know, they'll deny it if we ask them."

     There was a pause, and then —

     "Merlin's beard! Peter, you're genius!" James suddenly exclaimed, his hazel eyes widening with excitement.

     "Er... what did I do?" Peter asked in confusion and scratched his forehead l, trying to recall what he had just said.

     "You're right. This is a secret Remus is probably ashamed of. A secret that even if anyone knows, they've probably been covering up for him. And the teachers certainly know, because —"

     "Because he's been missing numerous classes for two years now, and none of the teachers had given him any detention or even asked him about it! That means they have to know!" Sirius continued with the same amount of excitement, his grin broad.

     "Exactly!" James nodded enthusiastically. "They're covering up for him. Just like Madam Pomfrey. Remember last year when Remus went missing for the first time and we went to the hospital to search for him? It was obvious Madam Pomfrey was lying about not knowing anything! All the teachers are in on this secret!"

     "Then why are we standing here, wasting time!? Let's go to the hospital wing!" said Sirius, making his way toward the door. But James stopped him.

     "We can't go there like this."

     Sirius looked back at him in surprise. "Why the hell not?"

     "We can't go there," James repeated himself, before adding, "without a little help."

    He then went by his trunk, taking out his Invisibility Cloak from underneath his clothes. James smirked, holding it up. "Nothing can be kept hidden from us for too long, gentlemen. We are the Marauders, after all."