Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 668 School Violence
“Oh my God, I really hope I’m right!” Lupin replied seriously, just as people crowded around the front door, eager to get to the sunlit area outside. The four raiders also stepped into the crowd. “First, he’s sitting in my seat. Second, he’s wearing my clothes. Third, his name is Remus Lupin.”

"Hahahaha"

Sirius Black and James Porter burst into unrestrained laughter.

There was only the insect's tail, no laughter.

"I... I wrote down the shape of the mouth and nose, the pupils of the eyes, and the fluffy tail," Little Pettigrew said anxiously, "but... but I can't remember anything else—"

“Oh, Merlin, how could you be so stupid, Wormtail?” Jaime growled, starting to sound impatient. “You spend every month running around with a werewolf—”

"Merlin, James, could you please keep your voice down?" Lupin pleaded.

Harry glanced back again, still uneasy. Snape was still not far away, engrossed in his exam questions—but this was Snape's memory, Harry was certain. If Snape decided to wander off once they reached the outer field, he—Harry—would be unable to follow James any further. However, to his great relief, as James and his three friends strode across the grass and down the slope towards the lake, Snape, still studying his exam, followed, clearly unsure of where he was going. Harry stayed a short distance ahead of Snape, trying to keep a close eye on James and the others.

“Hmph, I think those questions are minor problems.” Harry heard Sirius say this. “I think I can at least get an ‘A’, otherwise I’d be a fool.”

“Me too,” James said, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a struggling golden thief.

"Oh, Merlin! Where did you get him?"

“Stolen,” James said casually. He began toying with the thief, sending it flying about a foot away before catching it again, his reflexes superb. Wormtail watched him in awe.

They stopped in the shade of the beech tree by the lake—

Under that same tree, Harry, Tyrell, Ron, and Hermione once spent a Sunday finishing their homework and then lying on the grass chatting.

Harry looked back again and was pleased to see that Snape was already sitting on the grass in the dense shade of the bushes, just as he had been before, engrossed in studying the O.W.L. exam papers. So Harry could sit freely on the grass between the beech trees and bushes, watching the four people under the trees.

The dazzling sunlight shone on the calm lake surface and onto the shore, where a group of girls who had just come out of the auditorium sat laughing and taking off their shoes and socks to cool their feet in the lake water.

Lupin pulled out a book and began to read.

Sirius Black stared at the students wandering around on the grass, his expression haughty and weary, which also made him look very cool.

James was still toying with the golden snitch, letting it fly further and further away, almost escaping, but he always managed to catch it at the last moment.

Wormtail stared at him, his mouth agape. Whenever James pulled off a difficult move to catch the Snitch, Wormtail would clap and cheer, panting heavily.

Five minutes passed like this, and Harry couldn't understand why James wouldn't let Wormtail catch the Snitch himself, but James seemed to really enjoy being the center of attention.

Harry noticed that his father had a habit of ruffling his hair; he always seemed to want his hair to be too neat, and he also kept looking at the girls by the water.

"Put that thing away, okay?" Sirius finally spoke up after James made a beautiful catching motion and Wormtail cheered, "Otherwise Wormtail will get so excited he'll wet his pants."

Wormtail blushed slightly, but James grinned.

"Did I disturb you?" he said, stuffing the thief back into his pocket.

Harry could clearly sense that James only stopped showing off in front of Sirius.

"No, I'm just really bored," Sirius said with a grin. "I wish it were a full moon today."

"Can you put some effort into your studies?" Lupin said somberly from behind his book. "We still have a metamorphosis exam. If you're bored, you can test me. Here you go..." He handed him his book.

But Sirius snorted, "I don't need to look at this garbage. I know everything I need to know."

“Oh, well, maybe this will cheer you up, Bigfoot,” James chuckled in a low voice. “Look who’s that…”

Sirius turned his head. He suddenly froze, like a dog that had caught the scent of a rabbit.

“That’s great,” he said softly. “Snotty!”

Harry turned to see what Sirius was looking at.

Snape continued walking, stuffing his OWL exam papers into his bag. As he left the shade of the bushes and was about to cross the grass, Sirius and James stood up.

Lupin and Wormtail remained seated: Lupin was still staring at his book, but his eyes didn't move, and his brows were slightly furrowed; Wormtail glanced at Sirius and James, then at Snape, his face showing an expression of eager anticipation for what he expected to happen.

"Hey! How's that, you snotty-nosed rascal?" James said loudly on purpose.

Snape reacted incredibly quickly, as if he had anticipated an attack.

Snape immediately threw off his satchel and reached into his robes, but before he could raise his wand halfway, James roared—

"Except your weapons!"

Snape's wand flew twelve feet into the air and landed softly in the grass behind him with a soft "plop." Sirius Black let out a short, crisp laugh.

"Obstacles ahead!" he said, pointing his wand at Snape, who was lunging for his lost wand but was knocked down halfway there.

The students around them all turned to look at them.

Some students slowly stood up and gradually gathered around. Some looked on with suspicion, while others found it quite amusing.

Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius approached him, wands raised, James glancing back at the girls by the water as he went. Wormtail stood up, watching intently, and shifted to the side, avoiding Lupin for a better view.

"How did the test go, you snotty-nosed brat?" James asked.

"I was watching him the whole time; his nose was practically touching the parchment," Sirius said sarcastically. "The parchment must be covered in grease stains; they won't be able to read a single word."

Several onlookers burst into loud laughter—

Clearly, even during his school days, Snape wasn't very popular.

The insect's tail squeaked and chuckled.

Snape tried to stand up, but the spell was still working on him, and he struggled as if bound by invisible ropes.

“You—just you wait!” Snape retorted, his face flushed, glaring at James with utter disgust. “You—just you wait!”

(End of this chapter)