The Secrets of the Marauders

Nine

(OK, you probably all hate me!!! But please refer to the Author's Note at the end of this chapter for a full scale apology, lol!! XD)

Nine

Harry attempted to push through the crowd dispersing from the Great Hall. He could just spot Peter's huge retreating backside a little way away from him, and attempted to follow it. For a second he thought of it as a beacon to his demise, but he wasn't sure why.

Just to clarify - he had almost completely forgotten his worries about James - all he currently cared about was getting out of this crowd alive.

The crowd carried him to the bottom of the Grand Staircase, where he roughly pushed his way out and tried to run away from the crowd and towards Peter. No matter how much he wanted to resent doing that, he felt he had to.

It was kind of like that nagging feeling you get when you're asked to do chores, and you really don't want to do them.

Some students had gone the opposite way to the courtyard, some had descended the stairs from the level that Harry was on, most likely towards the Dungeons, and most of them were ascending the staircase, pushing past Harry and heading to classes upstairs. Harry began to ascend the stairs with the crowd. He knew exactly how to get to Herbology, it was just explaining how he had found it so quickly without getting completely and utterly lost, with having nobody to guide him there that would be the problem. Therefore, he attempted to spot Peter somewhere above him.

At the moment, he was void of results, but Peter couldn't be too far ahead, and Harry did need to be close enough to him so that it would seem believable that he had followed Peter to Herbology.

Gradually, he climbed to the second floor and went to face the portrait, then groaned as he realised that it would be pointless uttering the password that he knew it to be, because it couldn't be used here. He sighed, and ascended again to the third floor.

He entered the third floor corridor and jogged along it, and came out at the staircase up to Defence Against the Dark Arts. He was vaguely reminded of Umbridge as he stared up at the huge spiral staircase, various students littering it as they ascended and descended it. His rage mounted at the thought of Umbridge, but he quickly reminded himself that Umbridge wasn't here, and his anger slowly, but surely diminished.

He began to climb the spiral staircase - walking at first, and then he absentmindedly checked his watch again and almost facepalmed when he once again realised it didn't work. He began jogging up the staircase, but ceased that when he began losing breath. Alright, was it just him, or was he getting less fit by the second?

He eventually reached the second opening facing a stained-glass window, and entered it. The gargoyle sitting there didn't phase him, as he knew it was there, though he still hastened to get past it as quickly as possible, as he remembered this particular gargoyle to have a particularly squeaky, high-pitched voice and a knack for telling really bad jokes.

He turned left at the gargoyle and went down the narrow spiral steps. The descent felt like it lasted forever, though admittedly not as long as climbing the Defence Against the Dark Arts staircase had taken him.

Once he got to the bottom, he pushed open the wooden door and came out at a plain alcove, which you would probably realise was there even if somebody hadn't pointed it out. He was relieved he was on the second floor, now it was only getting to Herbology.

He turned right and faced stone steps, which he trotted down and once he was at the bottom, he turned right past a rather old looking portrait that he wasn't entirely sure who occupied. As he examined the portrait more minutely, he deciphered a balding, sleeping wizard with a lilac tunic and a dark, grey cloak.