The Life that Never Lived ? (Chamber of Secrets)

THE DEATHDAY PARTY

"Is it so impossible for you to have a year without something creepy happening to you?" Lily huffed before Sirius could start.

"Apparently," Harry grumbled.

Sirius started the chapter with some unease, he really didn't want that voice to start becoming a regular thing around the castle.

"Sibling love I suppose," James chuckled.

"Is that why you guys forced me to take some," Remus huffed, "even though I don't get colds."

"Had to keep up your 'sick' appearance somehow," Sirius said brightly.

They all gave weak chuckles at that description, hoping to put those dark words out of their mind for now.

"How do you even get muddy?" Lily demanded. "You play up in the air?" She was far more concerned with her son getting sick from spending so much time in the cold and wet then the actual act of being covered in muck.

There was a quick argument where both James and Sirius tried to answer her at once, and while they were doing that Harry told her, "It's mostly from walking around in it before and after we

land. I didn't bring a change of clothes and shower like most of the other's do."

While both his father, and godfather, pouted at him for not being able to talk about their favourite sport, Sirius huffed and grumbled a bit more before simply reading.

Harry suddenly looked rather crestfallen, hating that his team's spirits were being sunk so low because of stupid Malfoy, again.

"I stand by what I said," Sirius said, "they can be as fast as they like, doesn't make them good."

Harry looked a little better for that.

"Guess he would still be on about that," Remus said, laughing for real this time.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Every year, Nick tries to join the Headless Hunt," James told him, "but obviously he can't get in, since he's not actually headless."

"He's been trying to for centuries," Sirius agreed, "you'd think he'd take the hint."

"How do you make transparent letters?" Harry asked in surprise.

"That's really complicated magic that only ghosts know how to work," Lily said sadly, "no one's ever been able to get them to tell either. They say it's a secret that stays with death."

"That's how Binn's works his notes in class," James agreed, "same kind of principle. We've talked to every ghost in that school countless times, but no one's ever told us."

"Buggers," Sirius huffed, "the Bloody Baron once snapped at me that he hoped I didn't turn into a ghost, just so I'd leave him be."

"Well, you bothered him the most out of every ghost," Remus chuckled.

"Oh, so now you're on his side?" Sirius asked, not finding this as fun as he would have before they started reading these books. They had all joked about their deaths before now, inevitable in

the era of fear they lived in, but it just didn't seem as funny now that four out of the five people in the room knew they were going to die in the next year of their time.

This fact became clear to James when it seemed Remus didn't want to continue, so James saved him by asking Sirius to keep reading.

"Sadly, not," Lily sighed, "because whoever did it didn't actually behead him."