Chapter Text
It’s quiet in the library, and James Potter is sure he’s the only soul here. He’s creeping very quietly, his eyes trailing over the shelves. The restricted section must have some sort of organization, for Madame Pince to be able to find books, but in the last five years, he’s never been able to figure out what it is. It’s not organized like the rest of the library, and that makes it difficult to find any specific thing.
He’s not looking for a specific book, but a specific subject. Just something more advanced in transfiguration than what he’s currently at. He’s already studied way ahead of OWL level, and he doesn’t doubt that he could get a perfect O if he took the NEWTs today. Just by virtue of how much he had to study ahead to pull off becoming an animagus last year .
And the end result of all that is that he’s bored . Sirius can give him shit for it all he wants, but James legitimately enjoys learning. He gets top marks for a reason, even as he’s simultaneously the bain of his teachers’ existence.
Besides, the more he knows, the more he can put into jokes and pranks. To then annoy his teachers further.
He stops his search, frowning slightly as his gaze lands on a specific book. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Huh. Potter? It’s not a very common name in the Wizarding World. Almost any Potter- aside from maybe the odd muggleborn- would be related to him . And there aren't many of those. Or... any, right now.
Does he have a relative who’s done alchemy work? He doesn’t… remember anything like that, and he’s fairly well acquainted with his family tree. While the Potters super don’t care as much as other pureblood families, there’s a family lineage that can be traced back to Godric Gryffindor , a fact his father is… ridiculously proud of, and there’s a nice family tree scroll hanging in their dining room.
James doesn’t remember there being a single Harry, or Harold or something of that sort there.
Hesitating only a moment, he reaches his hand out from under the cloak, and pulls the book from the shelf, opening to the title page.
Under the title, there’s writing, in three distinct handwriting styles. In first one…
I solemnly swear that I am up to no good—
He almost drops the book, but manages to not, just staring at the scrawled message with wide eyes. How in the hell -
Below that are three names. One in the same handwriting. H. Potter . Then it’s R. Weasley and H. Granger, both in different handwriting.
James is just staring at the book. He doesn’t understand who this H. Potter is, or why he would have the Map Password. This-
Okay, either Padfoot is playing some sort of very elaborate prank on him, or this is… very weird. Either way he definitely had to read it.
⸻
“No, mate, not me.” Sirius shakes his head, holding the book upside down as he looks at it. “I wouldn’t write a whole bloody book for a joke. ‘Sides, how could I even be sure you would find it in the restricted section like that.”
“May I see it?” Remus Lupin asks quietly from his bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress and leaning forwards slightly.
“Sure thing, Moony.” Sirius tosses it his way, and Remus deftly catches it.
We’re he not so hopeless on a broom, Remus would make a half decent seeker.
“Skimming these first couple pages it seems to be a narrative text about a, uh, Dursley.” He pauses, closing the book slowly. “I wonder…”
“You wonder what?” The fourth friend squeaks, and Remus jumps to his feet, sitting the book aside.
“Hold that thought, Wormtail.”
He hurries out of the room, and James quickly gets up to grab the mysterious book. “I’d reckon it was just a coincidence-” He says slowly, returning to his own bed, “ If it didn’t have the map password on the title page.”
“What do you think Moony is up to?”
James shrugs, staring at the book in his hands. The cover is unadorned, just a dark grey hardback book, with the title printed in gold on the spine.
It’s very bizarre. If not for the fact that he found it in the restricted section, and with that note inside… he would just assume it’s a fiction book and not pay it any mind.
Remus returns to the room, and sits down quickly, next to James on his bed. “I thought I’d heard the name Dursley before. It’s not a terribly common name though, so I wanted to confirm. And, uh,” He shifts nervously. “Lily’s older sister is dating a Vernon Dursley . I vaguely remembered Lily complaining about her having brought him home for Christmas this year.”
James blinks quickly at the mention of Lily, his face flushing slightly. He’s been enamoured with Lily Evans since they were eleven years old, but being around her seems to make all the sense leave his head. It’s no wonder she hates him. He should probably just give up, but…
“That’s an even stranger coincidence; it has my surname- one uncommon in the wizarding world- on the cover, and an uncommon surname that you just happen to know of someone with… someone connected to a witch…”
“We’re going to have to read it properly, James. It… doesn’t seem to be cursed. I checked, so it… should be safe?”
“I checked before I ever brought it up here, Moony…” James mutters, tracing his fingertip down the spine. “You’re very right though. If we want to understand what the hell this is, we’ll definitely have to read it.”
“Tomorrow then.” Remus nods, then looks over towards Sirius. “I’d say now , but I know Padfoot and Wormtail still have homework to finish.”
Sirius groans and falls backward, pulling a pillow over his face, and Peter Pettigrew squeaks and pulls the curtains closed on his bed.
“Yeah,” James chuckles, sitting the book aside on his trunk. “Tomorrow.”