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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 95: The Marauders Are in Trouble
The total estimation for the basilisk came to forty thousand Galleons.
This was, of course, for the complete beast. Since James had delivered less than half (skin and heart were missing), they offered him fifteen thousand gold Galleons.
The amount was more than he expected the goblins to pay him, given that he could not produce any official documentation about the origin of the creature.
James concluded that this was the goblins' way to get in his good graces.
Goblin society puts a lot of weight on martial achievements, and taking down an ancient beast such as the Slytherin Basilisk was certainly a great accomplishment in their eyes.
But in the end, no matter what their reasoning was, James was happy with the amount he got.
The mountain of gold had to be stashed away inside a large dimensional bag that he was forced to buy, as he hadn't brought anything capable of holding so much weight otherwise.
It was a worthwhile expense but a necessary one since he couldn't open a vault in his name without his parent's approval, so James didn't feel bad about it. But more importantly, now he wouldn't have to bother spending so much time making simple potions for sale and could focus on his most important projects.
The entire trip took him over two hours in total. It was more than he had initially predicted, so he hoped that everything was alright with his friends.
James noticed the sky was starting to darken as he walked toward an empty alley from where he could use Apparition.
"Tempus." There were still over thirty minutes before they had to be back at the castle.
"It should be fine." If Sirius and the others complained about him being late, he could promise to buy them something on their next trip, since now he could afford a bit of wasteful spending.
James lifted his wand and disappeared from Diagon Alley.
His point of Apparition was another alley near the center of Hogsmeade that was rarely used.
After making sure no one saw him, he discreetly made his way back to the Three Broomsticks.
"Hmmm?..." James walked inside the pub and glanced at the table where his friends had been previously drinking, but the table was completely empty. Several glasses and plates with snacks were still on the table, but there was no sign of them.
There were only a few groups of students left, since it was getting late. So he couldn't have missed them in the crowd.
James then spotted Madam Rosmerta cleaning a table and went to ask about his friends.
She was surprised to see him there. "You weren't with them when they left? Then you should hurry, they may need you."
"What do you mean? Did something happen?"
Rosmerta made a concerned expression. "Some Slytherin students started making a ruckus and raising their voices. I was working in the kitchen, so I don't know exactly what they said, but when I came out, your friends seemed to be arguing with them. Soon after, they all rushed outside the pub. I'm worried they may get into a fight… those boys from Slytherin looked like at least sixth-years, and the Lestrange brothers were among them… those two are very scary."
James wasted no time getting out of the Three Broomsticks.
"Point Me, Sirius Black." The wand pointed him in the right direction.
At first, it followed the path leading out of Hogsmeade, but soon it deviated toward a narrow side path covered with trees. James was familiar enough with the area to know that this small trail led to a resting area with some benches.
He could hear the commotion from a small clearing ahead.
James moved as fast as he could, hoping to make it in time to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
There was a mixture of loud gasps, yells, and shouts, making it difficult to discern what was being said, but when he entered the resting area, he was finally able to assess the situation a bit better.
He could see his friends...Sirius, Remus, and Peter were on the other side of the clearing. Lily, Alice, and Frank were also with them.
James just recalled that they had been entering the Three Broomsticks as he was leaving.
Near the entrance and completely blocking it, was a group of Slytherin students.
He could only see their backs at the moment, but could still recognize some of them, like the two Lestrange brothers. Rodolphus could not be missed. The guy was massive for his age. His size and shape made him look more like a bodybuilder than a wizard.
Snape was also easy to spot. No one else had long, black, greasy hair like his.
There were three other boys, making them six in total.
Despite being equal in numbers, things were not going well for his friends.
Lily looked terrified, while her friend Alice was helping her boyfriend Frank. He seemed to have been hit with some hex that twisted his ankle badly, leaving him unable to stand.
Peter was using a handkerchief to cover Sirius's arm, which was bleeding profusely.
Remus seemed to be the only one left standing and was doing his best to defend his friends from further harm.
On the Slytherin side, only one of the boys appeared to be injured, clutching his hand.
James had to wonder how things had escalated to this point. This was not some school fight like the ones he remembered from his old days at Hogwarts.
Back then, kids mostly resorted to harmless jinxes, like the one that forced you to dance, or the one that made your teeth grow. They wouldn't try to cut each other up or break their bones.
Perhaps this was a side effect of the Dark Lord's growing influence...making Slytherin students bolder and more confident that they could get away with anything since their parents now had the backing of a powerful wizard trying to take over the country.
'Maybe it's time to change my approach to these kinds of situations. Perhaps… I've been too soft,' James thought, as he raised his wand.
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