Okay, so I woke up in this morning and I suddenly had the main plot of this story all worked out. I also woke up with the title all set, and I just couldn’t wait to get this up, so I came home from school, did all my homework, and did all of the editing. I couldn’t wait two weeks like I said I would in Secrets and Masks, so here it is now. Like it says, this is just the introduction, but the rest isn’t so boring, I promise. You have to start with this though, so deal with it. Now, if you were kind enough to read this, then I think you’ve been patient enough, so I’m done. Enjoy!
Introduction
Three girls sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts’ Express talking amongst themselves: three beautiful, bright witches; each one so very different, yet the best of friends.
First there was Lily Evans. She was the tallest of the three reaching 5-foot-9. She had straight, bright red hair that fell in layers down to the middle of her back. She had emerald green eyes that always betrayed her every emotion. They sparkled with happiness, shimmered with love, shone with fear, glistened with sadness, or flashed with anger. When she smiled, she lit up the room. Lily was gorgeous. There was no other way to describe her radiating beauty. It followed her around with the aura of kindness that seemed to bring anybody in need of help to her. Lily’s kind nature was known by all and it had people saying that she was the sweetest girl to ever enter Hogwarts. She was nice to everyone in the beginning. She never judged a person before meeting them. She had a way of caring for others that no one else could match. She showed kindness to almost everybody and gave second, third, fourth, and even fifth chances to almost everyone. She showed kindness to just about everybody until she found it almost impossible to do so and was forced to admit that there was no way to keep being nice. There were only a few exceptions to this rule. Lily was a very strong witch. She could conduct spells more easily than others and knew the answers to everything the teachers asked. Some said that Lily was a model student, and that’s why she was awarded this year’s Head Girl badge.
After Lily, there was Maria Goldstein. She was the next tallest at 5-foot-7 with shining dark brown hair that curled at the bottom reaching down to her lower back. Her eyes were a chocolate-brown color, but with a little something else. Maybe it was the dark gold specks or maybe the darker brown around the outside, but they were more than your average brown eyes. Her skin was naturally slightly tanned, and it suited her well. She was never seen without her dazzling smile; Maria was always so full of happiness. She saw the bright side of life. Maybe it was because she was so used to looking for that good part throughout her childhood that was so hard to find back then, or maybe it was her way of trying to overcome that sorrow filled past. Whatever it was, it was something that people needed. Her vibrant nature helped people find happiness that they felt they had lost or forgotten. She made sure that her friends were always happy. If dejection hit them, she was there with her bubbliness to get rid of it. People like Maria were greatly needed in times like these.
The last of the trio was Siena Vertenella. Siena was short, only 5-foot-4, blond, blue-eyed, and indescribably beautiful. Her golden blond locks were straight and layered and went down to her shoulder blades. Her bangs framed her face beautifully. Her skin was milky smooth and her facial features were perfect. Her eyes shone bright; they were a beautiful aquamarine color, but they had specks of other blues hidden in there. No one could ever think of a word to describe Siena’s beauty, so they simply said ‘angelic.’ Her rare smile could cause anybody to smile back; her soft, quiet voice was so like her shy nature. She hid behind her two friends making her go unnoticed by most; however, there were a few who noticed her, and when you noticed her, you saw everything about her. You fell in love with her before even speaking to her. There was something entrancing about Siena’s gentleness and beauty. Even though she was quiet, she had an enchanted air about her, though very few felt it; but if they did, they were lost in her. Unnoticed by Siena, there was someone she held spellbound, someone she wouldn’t have thought of, and someone who didn’t show he was captured by her spell.
Together, the three girls created one complete person. One clever, strong, energetic, caring, sweet, beautiful person; if one was missing, they weren’t whole. Together, these three girls led their lives, knowing that they would never be alone.
Down at the other end of the train sat four boys. They were four best friends; so close they were that if you didn’t already know otherwise, you would think they were brothers. In a sense, they were; there was a bond between them that held them together throughout everything: the good, the bad, and the in between.
James Potter was the first to be noticed. His height reached 6-foot-2, his body was well toned, and his looks were noticeably close perfect. He had soft hazel eyes that always sparkled with mischief, hidden behind round glasses, and a mischievous smile always playing on his lips. But probably his most distinguished feature was his messy, jet-black hair that never seemed to lie flat and always flew around everywhere. Of course he had girls all around him, hoping for a chance, but James had eyes for only one. Though, this didn’t stop James from being with girls, occasionally long term relationships, though they couldn’t last because of her. What got James noticed wasn’t only his good looks, though they were a major factor. No, what got James noticed was his personality; the way James was always so loud and confident. It was the way that James managed to keep the population of Hogwarts happy, with the help of his friends, with their silly antics and amusing pranks, though they did at times go too far. James’s confidence was bordering on arrogance, but it had hit its high point a couple of years ago and was slowly residing. James wasn’t what you could call completely mature, though more so than before, but maybe it was his fun childishness that made him such a good person to be around. Of course, there were only three people who could handle his childishness at all times without getting fed up.
One of those three was Sirius Black, James’s obvious best friend. Where there was James, there was Sirius and where there was Sirius there was James. Sirius was the same height as James and had the same color hair, but Sirius’s hair fell neat and elegantly into his deep grey eyes. Girls waited around him just to see him flip the hair out of his eyes with an elegant flick of his head. Sirius had achieved a casual elegance that no one else could hope to match. Everything about him seemed to be perfect. Sirius was often times close to recklessness which is where his friends stepped in. He had devilishly handsome looks to rival James’s and maybe even more girls falling at his feet. Almost every girl in their year, the year above, the year below, and a few from other years, had had their chance with Sirius Black. It was every girl’s dream to be with the heartthrob and Heartbreaker of Hogwarts, which seemed to make no sense. Some girls, very few, found the whole thing rather odd; whose dream would it be to be with the guy who has a record number of broken hearts on his conscience? Maybe it was because they all hoped to be the one to break his streak, to be the one to tame him. Or maybe it was the secretiveness of Sirius. No one really knew what kind of girl Sirius was looking for, and maybe they hoped that they were that girl. What they didn’t know was that that girl was already there, already decided. She was hiding in the shadows, and Sirius was secretly watching her, learning everything about her, hoping to find a way to get her. No one saw this; not even his friends, and especially not her.
Not even the caring, sweet, and sensitive Remus Lupin saw it. He was only an inch shorter than James and Sirius reaching 6-foot-1. He had sandy brown-blond hair and blue eyes as blue as the clear, bright day sky. His looks were up to par with those of his afore mentioned friends. Many girls noticed Remus as well, but the reason they didn’t chase him was his unwillingness to date. Nobody but his friends knew why, and they weren’t about to tell. Remus’s intelligence was great. He was rarely seen without a book, and it was obvious that he was the brains of the group’s operation. But, the thing that made Remus stand out was his character. Unlike his two friends, Remus showed both sides to the general public instead of reserving one for his friends. At times, he was sweet and kind, the level-headed one of the group. At other times, he was noisy and mischievous like the others. Most usually saw the level-headedness first, and therefore were surprised to encounter the high spirited side of him. That was probably what made Remus, Remus.
Rounding off the group was the shortest of the lot: Peter Pettigrew. He stood at 5-foot-8 with small watery eyes. He was rather plump and didn’t have the looks or the brains to match that of his friends, but his personality wasn’t so much below theirs. Though more quiet and reserved, Peter had his moments; he had his ideas, and there were a fair amount of things that wouldn’t have gone through without him. He was sneaky like a rat, though only his friends saw the connection of that. True, it wasn’t consistent; Peter was clumsy and often gave them away, but nonetheless sneaky. Though he didn’t have the intelligence to match his friends’, Peter tried hard, and with their help, did well in school. Despite his few strengths, Peter looked to James, Sirius, and Remus for guidance. He followed them and was rarely seen without them. Throughout the years, he had found little of his independence, but the lack in confidence made it still short lived.
Together, the Marauders were looked up to in school, though maybe not for their goodness, hopefully, the few good qualities of theirs shown on the outside were also taken in by the other students. Though the Marauders ruled the school and did come off as cocky at times, they were loyal to each other and had strength, bravery, intelligence, and, most importantly, each other.
Well, what’d you think. Did the intro bore you so much you won’t come back for the rest???
I hope not because the rest is more exciting. Give me lots of feedback and you can see for yourself.
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Full Version: A Nobody
Okay, so things will actually start happening now. (I can just picture your sighs of relief) I know it’s going to be a cliché, but I couldn’t help. Anyways, here’s the official, exciting beginning to my A Nobody.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Books
“So, how are you guys doing?” Lily asked. “I didn’t get to talk to you too much earlier.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Maria laughed. “You had to get to your precious meeting.”
Lily shot her a glare, but didn’t comment. “How were your summers?”
“Normal,” Maria replied. “I baby-sat Jonathan while Aunt Kristy and Uncle Mike went out.”
“So, in other words, they came up with ideas for family outings, but you told them to go by themselves while you baby-sat,” Lily clarified.
Maria shrugged. “I didn’t feel like going out. And besides, they don’t get out much, just the two of them, while I’m at Hogwarts.”
“And?”
“Oh fine,” Maria sighed. “I felt like making some extra money and Tina came to hang out.”
Lily smiled. Maria loved her aunt and uncle and would do anything to help them out, but she wouldn’t refuse getting out of the house so easily.
“So, how about your summer?” Maria asked Lily.
“Listened to Petunia be a brat, hung out with some of the girls at the mall and pool, listened to Petunia talk about her oaf boyfriend, what’s-his-face, did school work, and counted down the days until I could be rid of Petunia and get to come back to see all of you again.”
“Sounds productive,” Maria commented.
“It was,” Lily agreed.
Siena watched Lily and Maria talk a bit more about their summers. She didn’t mind watching, because there really wasn’t anything she could contribute to the conversation. Siena was more of a listener than a talker, and she liked it that way. It was better for people to not know too much about you so they couldn’t judge you. Let them think whatever they want, but why should she prove them right? It was only Lily and Maria that she trusted fully. They had always been there for her; she didn’t need anyone else.
They were currently talking about cute guys they talked to over the summer. Lily was saying how she went out with a guy, but he flipped out when she was talking to another guy she was friends with. She ended up dumping him and sticking with flirting for the rest of the summer. Maria on the other hand had flirted her way through her summer everywhere she went, analyzing the meanings of her conversations with her Muggle friend Tina while they baby-sat her little cousin Jonathan.
How was your summer, Sie?” Lily asked turning to Siena.
“Oh, it was okay,” Siena replied quietly. “I mainly just drew.”
“Are we ever going to get to see those sketches?” Maria asked her.
Siena shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Mean,” Maria muttered turning away.
Siena smiled. “How was the meeting, Lily?” she asked.
Lily’s smile slipped off. “Horrible. Can you believe it? Potter’s Head Boy! Dumbeldore must be insane!”
Siena smiled still.
“You knew, didn’t you?” Lily glowered at her.
“I overheard Sirius telling Remus about how Dumbledore must be crazy for doing it.”
“Well, Black’s right for this one time. How could Dumbledore make James Potter Heady Boy?! Is he trying to get me to commit suicide?!”
Siena’s rare smile slipped off. Maria turned sharply to Lily. She gasped and raised her hand to her mouth having realized what she had said. “S-sorry.” She apologized weakly.
Maria just shook her head taking a deep breath and relaxing a bit. “So,” she started after a moment’s silence. “What did Potter do this time? Did he ask you out again?”
Lily shook her head. “No, but he was still annoying.”
*Flashback*
“All right then, that’s all you needed to know, now get out,” James said to the prefects.
“Oh, and don’t forget to patrol the train!” Lily called over their hustle to get out.
Lily was about to follow them out, but James called her back. “Hey, Evans!”
Lily sighed exasperated and turned to glare at him. “What, Potter.”
“Can I ask you something?” he asked.
“No.”
“Ha ha, Evans, very funny, but seriously. Will you maybe just consider –“
“No Potter, I will not go out with you!” Lily practically screamed. “Just leave me alone!”
James smirked. “Aren’t we just a little bit self-absorbed? Who said I was going to ask you out?”
“You always do!”
“And you love it,” James said smugly. That’s why you immediately assumed it.”
“No, I hate it and thought I would save myself some time by replying quickly,” Lily corrected.
“But now that you’ve interrupted me, you’ve wasted time that could have been used for me to finish asking what I was asking and you to reply.”
“Potter!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll be quick; though I’m sure you would rather stay in my company longer.” Lily glared. “Okay, sheesh. I was just going to ask if we could be friends.”
“Ugh!” Lily shouted turning and walking out.
“Evans!”
“Go die, Potter!”
*End Flashback*
“Nice, Prongs,” Sirius said, laughing. “Act like an idiot and then ask her to be your friend.”
“Shut up,” James muttered.
“He’s right, James,” Remus said. “I told you not to act like an idiot.”
“You told me to be myself!” James cried indignantly.
“That was your mistake, Moony,” Peter whispered loudly to Remus.
James glared at him while Sirius laughed and Remus smiled.
“I couldn’t help it; it just came out! I don’t even see what I did wrong.”
“Well, the whole ‘self-absorbed’ thing, telling her she loved it, the smart *** comment about time, and telling her she enjoyed your company.”
James groaned and sank down into to his seat. “What do I do now?” he moaned.
“What are you asking me for?” Remus asked.
“Because you always have good ideas!”
“And you always twist them and make them fail.”
“Oh come on Moony, please?” James begged. “I’ll do exactly what you say and I won’t mess up, I promise.”
Remus sighed. “Okay, fine, but only because you look more like a begging dog than Padfoot does on full moons.”
Everyone rose from the tables and headed towards the doors of the Great Hall to get up to their dormitories. The feast had gone well, Dumbledore’s speech was the same as usual, and the Marauders' start-of-term prank on without a hitch.
They had successfully cast the charms to cause the Slytherins to randomly start singing the school song, to the tunes of Muggle kids’ television shows in the middle of dessert. The muggleborns, half-bloods, and the Marauders burst out laughing. What was even funnier was that the Marauders had also changed the slytherins’ robs so that they were changed into odd, colored suits with antlers, big, puffy suits with a lot of fuzz, bear costumes, lion costumes, dragon costumes, and dog and dinosaur costumes with Snape and Bellatrix standing out. Bellatrix was a bright red dog and Snape was a giant, purple dinosaur with a bright green belly. The cherry on top was how their voices were changed to match their costumes, and you could make out every voice and tune as if they were singing alone. The costumes caused the purebloods to laugh as well, and when a friend who understood the reference told them about it, they laughed all over again.
James and Sirius had gotten the idea when James’s uncle and aunt came for a visit during the summer, bringing along their four-year-old daughter. Mrs. Potter’s sister had married a Muggleborn, so little Kristy had grown up watching muggle cartoons at her grandparents’ house. When she came, she sang the songs all through the house with a different song for every activity and then some for fun. When James and Sirius begged his uncle and aunt to make her stop, James’s uncle explained the origins of the songs to the boys. They owled Remus and Peter and had the prank planned in a week.
James hastened through the crowd to catch up with Lily who was heading to Dumbledore’s office as they left the feast. “Hey, Evans, wait up!” he called seeing her and speeding up.
“What do you want now, Potter?”
“Nothing, I just thought we’d walk up to Dumbledore’s office together.”
Lily turned back around and continued walking with James following in her wake. They walked in silence until they reached the stone gargoyle guarding the Headmaster’s office.
“Oh, no,” Lily said stopping suddenly. “We don’t know the password.”
James raised his eyebrows questioningly. “Didn’t he tell you the password in the P.S. of the letter he sent over the summer?”
“No,” Lily said. “All he said was that he enjoyed treacle tart; I have no idea what –“
She was cut off as the gargoyle revealed a hidden staircase. Lily looked up at it in amazement, clueless as to how it had been revealed.
James chuckled to himself. “Of course, you wouldn’t know,” he said.
“What wouldn’t I know?” Lily asked turning and glaring up at James. Though she was tall, he was still a good 5 inches taller. “I’ll have you know that I have a quick mind and –“
James put up his hand to stop her. “Calm down, Evans. I just meant that you wouldn’t know that Dumbledore’s passwords are sweets or candies he likes, so he puts them in the P.S. of letters like that in case the letter falls into the wrong hands. You wouldn’t know that because you haven’t been asked to come here, but I get letters from him asking for me to meet him at least three times a month. After so long, you eventually figure it out, or actually, Wormtail figured it out, but whatever.”
“Oh,” was all Lily said.
“Well, shall we get up there?” James asked.
“Oh, yeah, sure,” she said going back to her usual self and leading the way up the staircase. They knocked on the door. But when there was no answer, they opened the door and went in.
Lily looked around in amazement while James went up to the bird stand where there was an old and quite ugly looking bird. It let out a low musical note causing Lily to turn and look over to see James gently petting the phoenix.
Suddenly, the phoenix burst into flames and fell in ashes into an ash tray that was underneath the stand. James yelped in pain and pulled away his hand examining the burns. He let out a soft jet of water from his wand over the burn cooling it off, than he dried up the water that had gotten onto the ground while Lily stared at the ashes in shock.
The door opened, and Dumbledore came into the office. Lily turned to him and stuttered, “Th-the b-bird just –“
“Ah, Fawkes,” said the old professor looking over at the stand where James was still standing. He walked over to his desk and said with a sigh, “I’ve been expecting it for days now.”
“Professor,” James said. “Could you heal my fingers? I was petting her when it happened.”
“Oh, of course, come over here.”
James obeyed and held out his right hand.
“James, I thought you would have learned after last time,” Dumbledore said waving his wand over the burns and healing them. “You know not to pet her when she’s like that.”
“Sorry, Professor. I couldn’t help myself,” he replied pulling back his hand with a smile.
“Of course you couldn’t. Now, shall we begin the meeting?”
“But-but –“
Lily was pointing open mouthed at the stand Fawkes had been perched on.
Dumbledore chuckled. “Fawkes, Miss Evans, is a phoenix.”
Lily still looked confused.
“Come here,” James said grabbing her hand and pulling her to the stand. Dumbeldore joined them.
“What –“
“Look,” James said pointing to the pile of ashes.
Lily gasped. Out of the ashes, a baby bird was emerging. It wasn’t too good looking, but Lily was still amazed.
After a few moments of watching baby Fawkes, Dumbledore clapped his hands together and said, “I do believe we have a meeting to get to.”
“Oh, right, Professor,” James said moving away from the stand and taking a seat. Lily did the same, and they both faced their old Headmaster in front of them.
“Well,” he began, “I would like to personally congratulate you on getting this position. I’m sure you two will make a fine pair this year. I assume you know all the basics that come with this position?”
James and Lily both nodded.
“Good,” Dumbledore continued. “Now then, I can get on to the more serious issue. As you know, there has been a wizard who, over the past few years, has been operating quietly trying to gather followers. Needless to say, he isn’t the nicest wizard you will ever, hopefully not, meet. However, I believe that he has gotten enough allies to begin focusing on his main goals. I’m afraid that his operations will no longer be quiet; he will begin to focus more on the ‘purification’ of the wizarding community. Lord Voldemort will come out into the open.”
Lily felt a shiver run up her spine and James stiffened. It was finally beginning to sink into them how serious things were. There used to be quiet and rare mysterious attacks mentioned in the Daily Prophet, but James had a feeling that they were going to start becoming louder, more frequent, and a lot let mysterious.
“We are going head first into dark times. Voldemort is bound to have recruited Hogwarts students, and is hoping to recruit even more. The students of this castle could be in danger.
“This year, I didn’t pick Heads based on grades and reputation.” His gaze fell on James. “I didn’t take into consideration the trouble you may have caused or the amount of detentions you have gotten. This year, I picked Heads based on strength, bravery, loyalty, courage, and moral fiber. I have picked you two as Head Boy and Girl because I know that you will do whatever it takes to help keep the dangers of the outside world out of Hogwarts, am I correct?”
James and Lily both nodded definitely.
Dumbledore smiled at them. “I thought so. I am giving you more privileges as Heads than I have in the past years. You may do whatever you can think of to help keep the students here as happy joyful as they have always been; no doubt it will take more than usual. If you get any thoughts or ideas, then please come and confirm them with me. I am looking forward to what you come up with. Do you have any questions?”
They shook their heads no.
“Excellent,” Dumbledore smiled. “Then I assume that you are ready to get to your new common room. It is in the same corridor as the Gryffindor common room behind the painting of the young woman holding a baby. The password is ‘Change.’ I will see you both tomorrow morning in the Great Hall. Good night!”
“Good night, Professor,” they said getting up from their chairs and heading out the door and down the stairs.
James and Lily walked in silence for a while. James was trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t annoy Lily, while Lily was hoping that James wouldn’t say anything.
They reached the painting, and Lily gave it the password. They stepped into a room the size of the Gryffindor common room. The walls were stone and the carpet was a gold color. The two arm chairs and the sofa were deep red. The fireplace was also gold and there was a soft red rug in front of it. The comfy armchairs and the sofa were arranged around it.
In the left and right far corners were two desks made of similar wood as the doors. Next to the desks were large windows overlooking the Hogwarts’ grounds.
There were two mahogany colored doors on either side of the fireplace. Each one had a gold plaque on it. The one on the right read ‘James,’ and the one on the left said, ‘Lily.’
“I could get used to this,” James said looking around.
Lily didn’t reply. She was over by the far left wall where stood a bookcase reaching the ceiling lined with books. All of them were books that they could use for their homework. There were books on Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfigurations, Charms, Herbology, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and every other subject offered at Hogwarts along with extra informative books.
“These books will be really helpful this year,” Lily said more to herself as she pulled a book out of the selves.
James snorted.
Lily turned and glared at him. “Just because you have never touched a book, Potter, doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with them. “
“I never said there was anything wrong with books.”
“You implied it.”
“No, I implied that there was something wrong with those books. I have nothing against these over here,” James said motioning towards the opposite wall where there was another bookcase, lined, this time, with both muggle and wizard novels.
Lily looked over too and approached the books. She saw them and turned to look at James questioningly. “You’ve read a book?” she asked.
“Don’t look so shocked, Evans. There’s nothing wrong with reading.”
“I never said there was.”
“You implied it.”
Lily glared at him. “No I didn’t.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” James said sarcastically. “You only implied that there is something wrong with me reading.”
“Exactly!”
“Well then, Evans, I’ll have you know that there is nothing wrong with me reading a book. They are actually quite relaxing, but of course, you wouldn’t know about reading stories because you only read informative books.”
“That is not true!” Lily shouted glaring. “I’ll have you know that I’ve read plenty of novels.”
“Oh really, like what, because I don’t recall seeing you with anything other than textbooks in your hands,” James shot back.
“I’ve read, um…. Okay, fine, so I don’t have time for leisurely reading, but –“
“Oh, of course you don’t. Those textbooks are your leisurely reading.”
“Well, what novels have you read, Mr. I-read-all-the-time? I have never seen you within 10 feet of a book, let alone reading one.”
“Yeah, because every time you see me, it is in a way too noisy place to read. I usually read in my dormitory or out on the grounds in a place I won’t tell you about.”
Lily had no retort to this, so she just continued to glare. She was actually quite surprised that she was having an argument with James Potter on books. The surprise wasn’t the argument, but the fact that he was on the side favoring novels. James Potter reading books was a little hard to grasp.
James grinned triumphantly. “You know, Evans, I don’t see what’s so unusual about me reading books.”
“Because…because you’re…you!” Lily shouted out.
“Yeah, I’m me, and if you knew me, then there would be nothing odd about me reading, but you can’t really judge me can you?”
Lily was left gaping like a fish while James walked to the door with his name on it. “’Night, Evans!” he called before closing the door firmly behind him.
So, is this going to go anywhere?
Let me know what you think (please)
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Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Books
“So, how are you guys doing?” Lily asked. “I didn’t get to talk to you too much earlier.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Maria laughed. “You had to get to your precious meeting.”
Lily shot her a glare, but didn’t comment. “How were your summers?”
“Normal,” Maria replied. “I baby-sat Jonathan while Aunt Kristy and Uncle Mike went out.”
“So, in other words, they came up with ideas for family outings, but you told them to go by themselves while you baby-sat,” Lily clarified.
Maria shrugged. “I didn’t feel like going out. And besides, they don’t get out much, just the two of them, while I’m at Hogwarts.”
“And?”
“Oh fine,” Maria sighed. “I felt like making some extra money and Tina came to hang out.”
Lily smiled. Maria loved her aunt and uncle and would do anything to help them out, but she wouldn’t refuse getting out of the house so easily.
“So, how about your summer?” Maria asked Lily.
“Listened to Petunia be a brat, hung out with some of the girls at the mall and pool, listened to Petunia talk about her oaf boyfriend, what’s-his-face, did school work, and counted down the days until I could be rid of Petunia and get to come back to see all of you again.”
“Sounds productive,” Maria commented.
“It was,” Lily agreed.
Siena watched Lily and Maria talk a bit more about their summers. She didn’t mind watching, because there really wasn’t anything she could contribute to the conversation. Siena was more of a listener than a talker, and she liked it that way. It was better for people to not know too much about you so they couldn’t judge you. Let them think whatever they want, but why should she prove them right? It was only Lily and Maria that she trusted fully. They had always been there for her; she didn’t need anyone else.
They were currently talking about cute guys they talked to over the summer. Lily was saying how she went out with a guy, but he flipped out when she was talking to another guy she was friends with. She ended up dumping him and sticking with flirting for the rest of the summer. Maria on the other hand had flirted her way through her summer everywhere she went, analyzing the meanings of her conversations with her Muggle friend Tina while they baby-sat her little cousin Jonathan.
How was your summer, Sie?” Lily asked turning to Siena.
“Oh, it was okay,” Siena replied quietly. “I mainly just drew.”
“Are we ever going to get to see those sketches?” Maria asked her.
Siena shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Mean,” Maria muttered turning away.
Siena smiled. “How was the meeting, Lily?” she asked.
Lily’s smile slipped off. “Horrible. Can you believe it? Potter’s Head Boy! Dumbeldore must be insane!”
Siena smiled still.
“You knew, didn’t you?” Lily glowered at her.
“I overheard Sirius telling Remus about how Dumbledore must be crazy for doing it.”
“Well, Black’s right for this one time. How could Dumbledore make James Potter Heady Boy?! Is he trying to get me to commit suicide?!”
Siena’s rare smile slipped off. Maria turned sharply to Lily. She gasped and raised her hand to her mouth having realized what she had said. “S-sorry.” She apologized weakly.
Maria just shook her head taking a deep breath and relaxing a bit. “So,” she started after a moment’s silence. “What did Potter do this time? Did he ask you out again?”
Lily shook her head. “No, but he was still annoying.”
*Flashback*
“All right then, that’s all you needed to know, now get out,” James said to the prefects.
“Oh, and don’t forget to patrol the train!” Lily called over their hustle to get out.
Lily was about to follow them out, but James called her back. “Hey, Evans!”
Lily sighed exasperated and turned to glare at him. “What, Potter.”
“Can I ask you something?” he asked.
“No.”
“Ha ha, Evans, very funny, but seriously. Will you maybe just consider –“
“No Potter, I will not go out with you!” Lily practically screamed. “Just leave me alone!”
James smirked. “Aren’t we just a little bit self-absorbed? Who said I was going to ask you out?”
“You always do!”
“And you love it,” James said smugly. That’s why you immediately assumed it.”
“No, I hate it and thought I would save myself some time by replying quickly,” Lily corrected.
“But now that you’ve interrupted me, you’ve wasted time that could have been used for me to finish asking what I was asking and you to reply.”
“Potter!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll be quick; though I’m sure you would rather stay in my company longer.” Lily glared. “Okay, sheesh. I was just going to ask if we could be friends.”
“Ugh!” Lily shouted turning and walking out.
“Evans!”
“Go die, Potter!”
*End Flashback*
“Nice, Prongs,” Sirius said, laughing. “Act like an idiot and then ask her to be your friend.”
“Shut up,” James muttered.
“He’s right, James,” Remus said. “I told you not to act like an idiot.”
“You told me to be myself!” James cried indignantly.
“That was your mistake, Moony,” Peter whispered loudly to Remus.
James glared at him while Sirius laughed and Remus smiled.
“I couldn’t help it; it just came out! I don’t even see what I did wrong.”
“Well, the whole ‘self-absorbed’ thing, telling her she loved it, the smart *** comment about time, and telling her she enjoyed your company.”
James groaned and sank down into to his seat. “What do I do now?” he moaned.
“What are you asking me for?” Remus asked.
“Because you always have good ideas!”
“And you always twist them and make them fail.”
“Oh come on Moony, please?” James begged. “I’ll do exactly what you say and I won’t mess up, I promise.”
Remus sighed. “Okay, fine, but only because you look more like a begging dog than Padfoot does on full moons.”
Everyone rose from the tables and headed towards the doors of the Great Hall to get up to their dormitories. The feast had gone well, Dumbledore’s speech was the same as usual, and the Marauders' start-of-term prank on without a hitch.
They had successfully cast the charms to cause the Slytherins to randomly start singing the school song, to the tunes of Muggle kids’ television shows in the middle of dessert. The muggleborns, half-bloods, and the Marauders burst out laughing. What was even funnier was that the Marauders had also changed the slytherins’ robs so that they were changed into odd, colored suits with antlers, big, puffy suits with a lot of fuzz, bear costumes, lion costumes, dragon costumes, and dog and dinosaur costumes with Snape and Bellatrix standing out. Bellatrix was a bright red dog and Snape was a giant, purple dinosaur with a bright green belly. The cherry on top was how their voices were changed to match their costumes, and you could make out every voice and tune as if they were singing alone. The costumes caused the purebloods to laugh as well, and when a friend who understood the reference told them about it, they laughed all over again.
James and Sirius had gotten the idea when James’s uncle and aunt came for a visit during the summer, bringing along their four-year-old daughter. Mrs. Potter’s sister had married a Muggleborn, so little Kristy had grown up watching muggle cartoons at her grandparents’ house. When she came, she sang the songs all through the house with a different song for every activity and then some for fun. When James and Sirius begged his uncle and aunt to make her stop, James’s uncle explained the origins of the songs to the boys. They owled Remus and Peter and had the prank planned in a week.
James hastened through the crowd to catch up with Lily who was heading to Dumbledore’s office as they left the feast. “Hey, Evans, wait up!” he called seeing her and speeding up.
“What do you want now, Potter?”
“Nothing, I just thought we’d walk up to Dumbledore’s office together.”
Lily turned back around and continued walking with James following in her wake. They walked in silence until they reached the stone gargoyle guarding the Headmaster’s office.
“Oh, no,” Lily said stopping suddenly. “We don’t know the password.”
James raised his eyebrows questioningly. “Didn’t he tell you the password in the P.S. of the letter he sent over the summer?”
“No,” Lily said. “All he said was that he enjoyed treacle tart; I have no idea what –“
She was cut off as the gargoyle revealed a hidden staircase. Lily looked up at it in amazement, clueless as to how it had been revealed.
James chuckled to himself. “Of course, you wouldn’t know,” he said.
“What wouldn’t I know?” Lily asked turning and glaring up at James. Though she was tall, he was still a good 5 inches taller. “I’ll have you know that I have a quick mind and –“
James put up his hand to stop her. “Calm down, Evans. I just meant that you wouldn’t know that Dumbledore’s passwords are sweets or candies he likes, so he puts them in the P.S. of letters like that in case the letter falls into the wrong hands. You wouldn’t know that because you haven’t been asked to come here, but I get letters from him asking for me to meet him at least three times a month. After so long, you eventually figure it out, or actually, Wormtail figured it out, but whatever.”
“Oh,” was all Lily said.
“Well, shall we get up there?” James asked.
“Oh, yeah, sure,” she said going back to her usual self and leading the way up the staircase. They knocked on the door. But when there was no answer, they opened the door and went in.
Lily looked around in amazement while James went up to the bird stand where there was an old and quite ugly looking bird. It let out a low musical note causing Lily to turn and look over to see James gently petting the phoenix.
Suddenly, the phoenix burst into flames and fell in ashes into an ash tray that was underneath the stand. James yelped in pain and pulled away his hand examining the burns. He let out a soft jet of water from his wand over the burn cooling it off, than he dried up the water that had gotten onto the ground while Lily stared at the ashes in shock.
The door opened, and Dumbledore came into the office. Lily turned to him and stuttered, “Th-the b-bird just –“
“Ah, Fawkes,” said the old professor looking over at the stand where James was still standing. He walked over to his desk and said with a sigh, “I’ve been expecting it for days now.”
“Professor,” James said. “Could you heal my fingers? I was petting her when it happened.”
“Oh, of course, come over here.”
James obeyed and held out his right hand.
“James, I thought you would have learned after last time,” Dumbledore said waving his wand over the burns and healing them. “You know not to pet her when she’s like that.”
“Sorry, Professor. I couldn’t help myself,” he replied pulling back his hand with a smile.
“Of course you couldn’t. Now, shall we begin the meeting?”
“But-but –“
Lily was pointing open mouthed at the stand Fawkes had been perched on.
Dumbledore chuckled. “Fawkes, Miss Evans, is a phoenix.”
Lily still looked confused.
“Come here,” James said grabbing her hand and pulling her to the stand. Dumbeldore joined them.
“What –“
“Look,” James said pointing to the pile of ashes.
Lily gasped. Out of the ashes, a baby bird was emerging. It wasn’t too good looking, but Lily was still amazed.
After a few moments of watching baby Fawkes, Dumbledore clapped his hands together and said, “I do believe we have a meeting to get to.”
“Oh, right, Professor,” James said moving away from the stand and taking a seat. Lily did the same, and they both faced their old Headmaster in front of them.
“Well,” he began, “I would like to personally congratulate you on getting this position. I’m sure you two will make a fine pair this year. I assume you know all the basics that come with this position?”
James and Lily both nodded.
“Good,” Dumbledore continued. “Now then, I can get on to the more serious issue. As you know, there has been a wizard who, over the past few years, has been operating quietly trying to gather followers. Needless to say, he isn’t the nicest wizard you will ever, hopefully not, meet. However, I believe that he has gotten enough allies to begin focusing on his main goals. I’m afraid that his operations will no longer be quiet; he will begin to focus more on the ‘purification’ of the wizarding community. Lord Voldemort will come out into the open.”
Lily felt a shiver run up her spine and James stiffened. It was finally beginning to sink into them how serious things were. There used to be quiet and rare mysterious attacks mentioned in the Daily Prophet, but James had a feeling that they were going to start becoming louder, more frequent, and a lot let mysterious.
“We are going head first into dark times. Voldemort is bound to have recruited Hogwarts students, and is hoping to recruit even more. The students of this castle could be in danger.
“This year, I didn’t pick Heads based on grades and reputation.” His gaze fell on James. “I didn’t take into consideration the trouble you may have caused or the amount of detentions you have gotten. This year, I picked Heads based on strength, bravery, loyalty, courage, and moral fiber. I have picked you two as Head Boy and Girl because I know that you will do whatever it takes to help keep the dangers of the outside world out of Hogwarts, am I correct?”
James and Lily both nodded definitely.
Dumbledore smiled at them. “I thought so. I am giving you more privileges as Heads than I have in the past years. You may do whatever you can think of to help keep the students here as happy joyful as they have always been; no doubt it will take more than usual. If you get any thoughts or ideas, then please come and confirm them with me. I am looking forward to what you come up with. Do you have any questions?”
They shook their heads no.
“Excellent,” Dumbledore smiled. “Then I assume that you are ready to get to your new common room. It is in the same corridor as the Gryffindor common room behind the painting of the young woman holding a baby. The password is ‘Change.’ I will see you both tomorrow morning in the Great Hall. Good night!”
“Good night, Professor,” they said getting up from their chairs and heading out the door and down the stairs.
James and Lily walked in silence for a while. James was trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t annoy Lily, while Lily was hoping that James wouldn’t say anything.
They reached the painting, and Lily gave it the password. They stepped into a room the size of the Gryffindor common room. The walls were stone and the carpet was a gold color. The two arm chairs and the sofa were deep red. The fireplace was also gold and there was a soft red rug in front of it. The comfy armchairs and the sofa were arranged around it.
In the left and right far corners were two desks made of similar wood as the doors. Next to the desks were large windows overlooking the Hogwarts’ grounds.
There were two mahogany colored doors on either side of the fireplace. Each one had a gold plaque on it. The one on the right read ‘James,’ and the one on the left said, ‘Lily.’
“I could get used to this,” James said looking around.
Lily didn’t reply. She was over by the far left wall where stood a bookcase reaching the ceiling lined with books. All of them were books that they could use for their homework. There were books on Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfigurations, Charms, Herbology, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and every other subject offered at Hogwarts along with extra informative books.
“These books will be really helpful this year,” Lily said more to herself as she pulled a book out of the selves.
James snorted.
Lily turned and glared at him. “Just because you have never touched a book, Potter, doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with them. “
“I never said there was anything wrong with books.”
“You implied it.”
“No, I implied that there was something wrong with those books. I have nothing against these over here,” James said motioning towards the opposite wall where there was another bookcase, lined, this time, with both muggle and wizard novels.
Lily looked over too and approached the books. She saw them and turned to look at James questioningly. “You’ve read a book?” she asked.
“Don’t look so shocked, Evans. There’s nothing wrong with reading.”
“I never said there was.”
“You implied it.”
Lily glared at him. “No I didn’t.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” James said sarcastically. “You only implied that there is something wrong with me reading.”
“Exactly!”
“Well then, Evans, I’ll have you know that there is nothing wrong with me reading a book. They are actually quite relaxing, but of course, you wouldn’t know about reading stories because you only read informative books.”
“That is not true!” Lily shouted glaring. “I’ll have you know that I’ve read plenty of novels.”
“Oh really, like what, because I don’t recall seeing you with anything other than textbooks in your hands,” James shot back.
“I’ve read, um…. Okay, fine, so I don’t have time for leisurely reading, but –“
“Oh, of course you don’t. Those textbooks are your leisurely reading.”
“Well, what novels have you read, Mr. I-read-all-the-time? I have never seen you within 10 feet of a book, let alone reading one.”
“Yeah, because every time you see me, it is in a way too noisy place to read. I usually read in my dormitory or out on the grounds in a place I won’t tell you about.”
Lily had no retort to this, so she just continued to glare. She was actually quite surprised that she was having an argument with James Potter on books. The surprise wasn’t the argument, but the fact that he was on the side favoring novels. James Potter reading books was a little hard to grasp.
James grinned triumphantly. “You know, Evans, I don’t see what’s so unusual about me reading books.”
“Because…because you’re…you!” Lily shouted out.
“Yeah, I’m me, and if you knew me, then there would be nothing odd about me reading, but you can’t really judge me can you?”
Lily was left gaping like a fish while James walked to the door with his name on it. “’Night, Evans!” he called before closing the door firmly behind him.
So, is this going to go anywhere?
Let me know what you think (please)
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I'm glad people are kind of liking it (as far as I know because only two awesome people have left me feedback), but let's hope that this next chapter makes you like it even more.
Chapter 2: Potions
“I cannot believe we slept in! We are going to be late for our first class and we’re going to miss breakfast! How did we sleep in?!”
“Calm down, Mary,” Siena said in her usual quiet voice. Surprisingly, Maria heard her and actually calmed down due to the calmness in Siena’s tone. No one but Siena could have such effective calmness. “We only slept in because Lily isn’t here to wake us up, but we didn’t sleep in that much. If you stop rushing around, and turn around, you will find your shoes waiting by the door. Just put them on and we can go down to breakfast. We still have half-an-hour before our first class.”
Maria turned and found that her shoes were indeed by the door. “Thanks, Sie,” she said rushing over to them. “You’re a life saver.”
“I wouldn’t say that; I just saw your shoes sitting right in front of me and thought I’d tell you.”
“You’re too you,” Maria said grabbing her bag and heading out the door.
“So who do you want me to be?” Siena asked following her down the stairs.
“I didn’t say I wanted you to be someone else. I love you just the way you are.”
“Oh, I love you too, Mary!” Siena replied.
They both burst into giggles as they climbed down the last few stairs and into the common room. They walked down to the Great Hall where they found Lily, of course already down there and halfway through breakfast. They walked over to her, and sat down across from her.
“’Morning, Lily,” Maria greeted grabbing some food and putting it onto her plate.
“Did you guys sleep in?” she asked.
“Not that much!” Maria cried. “Ask Siena.”
Lily turned to her.
“Only half-an-hour,” she replied.
“Is it really that hard to wake up in the morning?” Lily asked.
“You weren’t there to wake us up!” Maria protested.
“Is it my job?”
“You already do it, so it might as well be.”
“Well you two should learn to get yourselves out of bed now because I won’t be there every morning,” Lily said to them.
“Oh, that’s right,” Maria smirked. “You’re sharing the Heads’ Common Room with James Potter.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me!” Lily groaned.
“What did you two argue about?” Siena asked.
“Books,” Lily replied.
“Books?!” Maria cried out. “How do you argue about books?!”
“Well, he thinks that textbooks are a waste of time, and that I haven’t read any novel.”
“You haven’t,” Siena pointed out.
“Sure I have!” Lily cried indignantly. “Just not too many and not very lately. I’m usually too busy.”
“Reading textbooks,” Maria mumbled.
“That’s what he said!” Lily shouted having heard her. “And it’s not true.”
“Yes it is.”
“No it’s not!”
“Yes, it is.”
“It is not!”
“Is!”
“Isn’t!”
“Is!”
“No, it’s not!”
“Please stop arguing like 6-year-olds,” Siena cut across Maria who had her mouth open to reply to Lily.
“Fine,” Lily said going back to her breakfast.
“Is,” Maria muttered under her breath returning to her food as well.
Lily glared at her, but Siena asked Lily something before she could say anything. “Why does he even care whether or not you read novels?”
“I don’t know. He just thinks reading textbooks is a waste of time and I should read something worthwhile like a story,” Lily replied.
“Potter thinks reading something is worthwhile?” Maria asked in shock.
“Oh yes, apparently, he reads books all the time, as long as they aren’t textbooks,” Lily replied bitterly.
“He does?” Maria asked looking as if she had just learned that penguins lived in the Sahara.
“Yes, and he also thinks that I don’t have the right to judge him.”
“Do you?” Siena asked. “Do you know enough about him?”
Lily had no reply.
“So, did you **** Evans off yet?” Sirius asked James conversationally at breakfast while piling his plate high with ever food in sight.
“Yes,” James muttered at his plate.
“What’d you do,” Remus asked.
“I told her to read a novel and dump textbooks.”
“And what did she say.”
“It’s unnatural for me to read.”
“Good,” Remus said nodding with approval. “We’re making progress already.”
“Did you just not hear what I said!” James cried.
“idinfinkaguingwago,” Sirius said to Remus through a mouth full of food.
“What?” Remus asked looking thoroughly disgusted at the sight inside his friend’s mouth.
Sirius gave a mighty swallow before repeating, “I didn’t think arguing was good.”
“Well, it isn’t,” Remus admitted to a crestfallen James, “but at least she doesn’t think you’re a complete idiot.”
“She doesn’t?” James asked looking hopeful.
Remus shook his head as he chewed his food.
“I don’t get it,” Sirius said. “Why would Lily not think he’s an idiot if they argue?”
“It’s probably because at least Prongs was defending books, am I right?” Peter said turning to Remus.
Remus nodded and swallowed. “The idea of Prongs standing up for books will begin to show her that he isn’t everything she thought he was.”
James looked cheerful and began to shovel food into his mouth. Sirius followed suit and Peter tried to do the same as well, but he choked on eggs, and Remus thumped him on the back rolling his eyes.
A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall came by with their timetables.
They took them and searched for the classes of the day.
“Oh, great!” Peter groaned. “Double Potions first with the Slytherins, and then, Double History of Magic after lunch.”
“At least we have a free period after that,” Remus pointed out.
Peter cheered up a bit, but James and Sirius didn’t look any happier.
“We can get to dinner early,” Remus said already rolling his eyes, knowing what his friends’ reactions were going to be.
He was right. Sirius and James both cheered up and sat up straighter, pulling more food towards them. They ate until Dumbledore told them to get on to their classes. Remus and Peter pulled a sulky James and Sirius down to the dungeons.
When they entered, they sat in their usual seats in the back where they couldn’t be noticed fooling around, but James still had a good view of Lily who was in the front with her friends.
Professor Slughorn walked in with his stomach preceding him when everyone was seated.
“Welcome to Seventh Year NEWTs Potions!” he exclaimed cheerily.
James and Sirius began a sword fight with their quills with Peter cheering them on. Remus tuned out of Slughorn’s speech on NEWTs and watched them with amusement.
This continued for 15 minutes before something Slughorn said caught Remus’s attention and he nudged James and Sirius to pay attention.
“This year, you not only have to prepare for your NEWTs, but also for the world outside of school, and to do that, you have to be able to work well with others, so, in preparation for that, you will be working in pairs this year,” the class sat up straighter; “that I will assign.” They all slumped back down into their seats as Slughorn smiled at them all. “I’ve done my best to split you up so you are evenly matched skill wise, so you can work together at the same pace. You’ll be working in these pairs for the rest of the term, unless you talk to me personally, and then I’ll consider switching you with someone else. Now, for the pairs.”
The entire class was listening to him now, eager to find out who they’d be working with.
“Andrews and Daniels,” Slughorn called. Two of the three Gryffindor girls who shared a dorm with Lily, Maria, and Siena, now just Maria and Siena, turned to each other with sighs of relief. Heidi Andrews, Olivia Daniels, and Tessa Sillians, hated their other three dorm mates, and Lily, Maria, and Siena reciprocated the feeling. Heidi, Olivia, and Tessa called themselves HOT when they were 11, and when they got older and “matured” they didn’t change their name. They spent their days in front of the mirror, drooling over the Marauders, and fixing their hair and makeup in front of the mirror.
Lily rolled her eyes at them as Slughorn continued. She hoped that Siena was with either her or Maria because she was so shy, especially around new people.
“Evans and Lupin.”
Lily sighed with relief. She wasn’t with Potter, Black, or a Slytherins. Hopefully, Maria and Siena would be together.
“Goldstein and…”
‘Vertenella, Vertenella…’
“…Potter.”
Maria groaned silently, and Lily sent her a sympathetic look. Maria just sighed heavily and shrugged before turning to Siena. She and Lily silently reassured her, but she looked anxious.
“Vertenella and…Black.”
That was harsh.
“Which one, Professor?” Maria interrupted him. Like it mattered; Bellatrix and Sirius were both equally horrible. Well, maybe not; at least Sirius refrained from jinxing and insulting those that were not in Slytherins, but Bellatrix was just pure evil and would give Siena ****.
“Oh, right, sorry,” Slughorn said looking back down at his clipboard. “Mr. Black.” Siena kept her gaze focused on the table top, clearly filling with dread.
“He’s better than Bellatrix,” Maria whispered to Siena.
Lily agreed, but it would still be just as bad for Siena. How was someone so shy supposed to work with obnoxious, playboy, Sirius Black?
“And finally, Pettigrew and Sillians,” Slughorn read.
Tessa would have preferred Remus, but at least she got a Marauder and she too relaxed, though she shot glares at Lily.
“Now, go sit with your partners and use the remaining class time to make a Shrinking Potion,” Slughorn told the class lowering his clipboard. “This should be fairly simple, but we are starting this year with review, so get to it.”
The students got up; some walking happily to their partners while others dragged their feet. Lily walked happily while Maria dragged her feet. Siena, however, didn’t move or even raise her gaze from the table; she was going to have a hard time with this.
On their way to the back of the room where James and Remus were waiting, Lily and Maria passed Sirius who was walking towards the front to Siena.
“Black!” Maria stopped him.
He looked at her questioningly.
“I’m warning you now, Black,” she said. “Don’t bother her. Just make your potion and get out; she does not need any of you ****.”
“Relax, Goldstein,” Sirius said holding his hands up. “I won’t annoy her, but we should become friends if we’re going to be working together for the rest of term.” With those final words, he walked on towards Siena, ignoring Maria’s shouts of, “Don’t try anything!”
When Lily reached Remus, she sat next to him and looked at the front where Sirius was now sitting next to Siena who was still staring at the table.
“Relax, Lily,” Remus said to her. “There’s nothing to worry about. You don’t give Sirius enough credit. He knows she’s shy, and he’ll be nice to her.”
“He’d better,” Lily growled before changing her tone and saying. “I’ll set up the cauldron, and you get the ingredients.”
In the front, Sirius was sitting next to Siena who hadn’t acknowledged his presence.
“I’m Sirius,” he told her trying to get her to talk or at least look up.
“Siena,” she told the table quietly.
‘At least she talked,’ Sirius told himself. That was good.
“I’ll go and get the ingredients, okay?” Sirius said.
She nodded and finally moved to set up the cauldron.
Sirius smiled and went to the storage closet and pulled out what they needed. He went back to Siena, determined to make her talk to him, but he didn’t make much progress. She answered some of his questions with nods or shakes of the head, occasionally getting a “yes” or “no.” Sirius wasn’t fazed; he was determined to get her to talk to him, and he told his friends this after class when they told him he had no hope. He didn’t answer them when they asked why he was so determined.
So...
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Chapter 2: Potions
“I cannot believe we slept in! We are going to be late for our first class and we’re going to miss breakfast! How did we sleep in?!”
“Calm down, Mary,” Siena said in her usual quiet voice. Surprisingly, Maria heard her and actually calmed down due to the calmness in Siena’s tone. No one but Siena could have such effective calmness. “We only slept in because Lily isn’t here to wake us up, but we didn’t sleep in that much. If you stop rushing around, and turn around, you will find your shoes waiting by the door. Just put them on and we can go down to breakfast. We still have half-an-hour before our first class.”
Maria turned and found that her shoes were indeed by the door. “Thanks, Sie,” she said rushing over to them. “You’re a life saver.”
“I wouldn’t say that; I just saw your shoes sitting right in front of me and thought I’d tell you.”
“You’re too you,” Maria said grabbing her bag and heading out the door.
“So who do you want me to be?” Siena asked following her down the stairs.
“I didn’t say I wanted you to be someone else. I love you just the way you are.”
“Oh, I love you too, Mary!” Siena replied.
They both burst into giggles as they climbed down the last few stairs and into the common room. They walked down to the Great Hall where they found Lily, of course already down there and halfway through breakfast. They walked over to her, and sat down across from her.
“’Morning, Lily,” Maria greeted grabbing some food and putting it onto her plate.
“Did you guys sleep in?” she asked.
“Not that much!” Maria cried. “Ask Siena.”
Lily turned to her.
“Only half-an-hour,” she replied.
“Is it really that hard to wake up in the morning?” Lily asked.
“You weren’t there to wake us up!” Maria protested.
“Is it my job?”
“You already do it, so it might as well be.”
“Well you two should learn to get yourselves out of bed now because I won’t be there every morning,” Lily said to them.
“Oh, that’s right,” Maria smirked. “You’re sharing the Heads’ Common Room with James Potter.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me!” Lily groaned.
“What did you two argue about?” Siena asked.
“Books,” Lily replied.
“Books?!” Maria cried out. “How do you argue about books?!”
“Well, he thinks that textbooks are a waste of time, and that I haven’t read any novel.”
“You haven’t,” Siena pointed out.
“Sure I have!” Lily cried indignantly. “Just not too many and not very lately. I’m usually too busy.”
“Reading textbooks,” Maria mumbled.
“That’s what he said!” Lily shouted having heard her. “And it’s not true.”
“Yes it is.”
“No it’s not!”
“Yes, it is.”
“It is not!”
“Is!”
“Isn’t!”
“Is!”
“No, it’s not!”
“Please stop arguing like 6-year-olds,” Siena cut across Maria who had her mouth open to reply to Lily.
“Fine,” Lily said going back to her breakfast.
“Is,” Maria muttered under her breath returning to her food as well.
Lily glared at her, but Siena asked Lily something before she could say anything. “Why does he even care whether or not you read novels?”
“I don’t know. He just thinks reading textbooks is a waste of time and I should read something worthwhile like a story,” Lily replied.
“Potter thinks reading something is worthwhile?” Maria asked in shock.
“Oh yes, apparently, he reads books all the time, as long as they aren’t textbooks,” Lily replied bitterly.
“He does?” Maria asked looking as if she had just learned that penguins lived in the Sahara.
“Yes, and he also thinks that I don’t have the right to judge him.”
“Do you?” Siena asked. “Do you know enough about him?”
Lily had no reply.
“So, did you **** Evans off yet?” Sirius asked James conversationally at breakfast while piling his plate high with ever food in sight.
“Yes,” James muttered at his plate.
“What’d you do,” Remus asked.
“I told her to read a novel and dump textbooks.”
“And what did she say.”
“It’s unnatural for me to read.”
“Good,” Remus said nodding with approval. “We’re making progress already.”
“Did you just not hear what I said!” James cried.
“idinfinkaguingwago,” Sirius said to Remus through a mouth full of food.
“What?” Remus asked looking thoroughly disgusted at the sight inside his friend’s mouth.
Sirius gave a mighty swallow before repeating, “I didn’t think arguing was good.”
“Well, it isn’t,” Remus admitted to a crestfallen James, “but at least she doesn’t think you’re a complete idiot.”
“She doesn’t?” James asked looking hopeful.
Remus shook his head as he chewed his food.
“I don’t get it,” Sirius said. “Why would Lily not think he’s an idiot if they argue?”
“It’s probably because at least Prongs was defending books, am I right?” Peter said turning to Remus.
Remus nodded and swallowed. “The idea of Prongs standing up for books will begin to show her that he isn’t everything she thought he was.”
James looked cheerful and began to shovel food into his mouth. Sirius followed suit and Peter tried to do the same as well, but he choked on eggs, and Remus thumped him on the back rolling his eyes.
A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall came by with their timetables.
They took them and searched for the classes of the day.
“Oh, great!” Peter groaned. “Double Potions first with the Slytherins, and then, Double History of Magic after lunch.”
“At least we have a free period after that,” Remus pointed out.
Peter cheered up a bit, but James and Sirius didn’t look any happier.
“We can get to dinner early,” Remus said already rolling his eyes, knowing what his friends’ reactions were going to be.
He was right. Sirius and James both cheered up and sat up straighter, pulling more food towards them. They ate until Dumbledore told them to get on to their classes. Remus and Peter pulled a sulky James and Sirius down to the dungeons.
When they entered, they sat in their usual seats in the back where they couldn’t be noticed fooling around, but James still had a good view of Lily who was in the front with her friends.
Professor Slughorn walked in with his stomach preceding him when everyone was seated.
“Welcome to Seventh Year NEWTs Potions!” he exclaimed cheerily.
James and Sirius began a sword fight with their quills with Peter cheering them on. Remus tuned out of Slughorn’s speech on NEWTs and watched them with amusement.
This continued for 15 minutes before something Slughorn said caught Remus’s attention and he nudged James and Sirius to pay attention.
“This year, you not only have to prepare for your NEWTs, but also for the world outside of school, and to do that, you have to be able to work well with others, so, in preparation for that, you will be working in pairs this year,” the class sat up straighter; “that I will assign.” They all slumped back down into their seats as Slughorn smiled at them all. “I’ve done my best to split you up so you are evenly matched skill wise, so you can work together at the same pace. You’ll be working in these pairs for the rest of the term, unless you talk to me personally, and then I’ll consider switching you with someone else. Now, for the pairs.”
The entire class was listening to him now, eager to find out who they’d be working with.
“Andrews and Daniels,” Slughorn called. Two of the three Gryffindor girls who shared a dorm with Lily, Maria, and Siena, now just Maria and Siena, turned to each other with sighs of relief. Heidi Andrews, Olivia Daniels, and Tessa Sillians, hated their other three dorm mates, and Lily, Maria, and Siena reciprocated the feeling. Heidi, Olivia, and Tessa called themselves HOT when they were 11, and when they got older and “matured” they didn’t change their name. They spent their days in front of the mirror, drooling over the Marauders, and fixing their hair and makeup in front of the mirror.
Lily rolled her eyes at them as Slughorn continued. She hoped that Siena was with either her or Maria because she was so shy, especially around new people.
“Evans and Lupin.”
Lily sighed with relief. She wasn’t with Potter, Black, or a Slytherins. Hopefully, Maria and Siena would be together.
“Goldstein and…”
‘Vertenella, Vertenella…’
“…Potter.”
Maria groaned silently, and Lily sent her a sympathetic look. Maria just sighed heavily and shrugged before turning to Siena. She and Lily silently reassured her, but she looked anxious.
“Vertenella and…Black.”
That was harsh.
“Which one, Professor?” Maria interrupted him. Like it mattered; Bellatrix and Sirius were both equally horrible. Well, maybe not; at least Sirius refrained from jinxing and insulting those that were not in Slytherins, but Bellatrix was just pure evil and would give Siena ****.
“Oh, right, sorry,” Slughorn said looking back down at his clipboard. “Mr. Black.” Siena kept her gaze focused on the table top, clearly filling with dread.
“He’s better than Bellatrix,” Maria whispered to Siena.
Lily agreed, but it would still be just as bad for Siena. How was someone so shy supposed to work with obnoxious, playboy, Sirius Black?
“And finally, Pettigrew and Sillians,” Slughorn read.
Tessa would have preferred Remus, but at least she got a Marauder and she too relaxed, though she shot glares at Lily.
“Now, go sit with your partners and use the remaining class time to make a Shrinking Potion,” Slughorn told the class lowering his clipboard. “This should be fairly simple, but we are starting this year with review, so get to it.”
The students got up; some walking happily to their partners while others dragged their feet. Lily walked happily while Maria dragged her feet. Siena, however, didn’t move or even raise her gaze from the table; she was going to have a hard time with this.
On their way to the back of the room where James and Remus were waiting, Lily and Maria passed Sirius who was walking towards the front to Siena.
“Black!” Maria stopped him.
He looked at her questioningly.
“I’m warning you now, Black,” she said. “Don’t bother her. Just make your potion and get out; she does not need any of you ****.”
“Relax, Goldstein,” Sirius said holding his hands up. “I won’t annoy her, but we should become friends if we’re going to be working together for the rest of term.” With those final words, he walked on towards Siena, ignoring Maria’s shouts of, “Don’t try anything!”
When Lily reached Remus, she sat next to him and looked at the front where Sirius was now sitting next to Siena who was still staring at the table.
“Relax, Lily,” Remus said to her. “There’s nothing to worry about. You don’t give Sirius enough credit. He knows she’s shy, and he’ll be nice to her.”
“He’d better,” Lily growled before changing her tone and saying. “I’ll set up the cauldron, and you get the ingredients.”
In the front, Sirius was sitting next to Siena who hadn’t acknowledged his presence.
“I’m Sirius,” he told her trying to get her to talk or at least look up.
“Siena,” she told the table quietly.
‘At least she talked,’ Sirius told himself. That was good.
“I’ll go and get the ingredients, okay?” Sirius said.
She nodded and finally moved to set up the cauldron.
Sirius smiled and went to the storage closet and pulled out what they needed. He went back to Siena, determined to make her talk to him, but he didn’t make much progress. She answered some of his questions with nods or shakes of the head, occasionally getting a “yes” or “no.” Sirius wasn’t fazed; he was determined to get her to talk to him, and he told his friends this after class when they told him he had no hope. He didn’t answer them when they asked why he was so determined.
So...
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I’ve taken forever and I have no excuse other than I’ve been too lazy, but I got around to posting. So sorry, but hopefully, you all don’t hate me because that would make me sad.
Chapter 3: Dawn or Day
Classes for the rest of the week were a bore. The teachers started class with a speech on NEWTs, and ended it with review. When the weekend finally came, Siena was thrilled. She spent all of Saturday outside by the lake with Maria and Lily because the weather was so beautiful. They just sat and talked for the most part, though Lily brought out homework to work on. They were simply enjoying the day and were disappointed to see it end. The next day, however, was dark and rainy. It was like the clouds just came out of nowhere and covered the sky. The storm started in the middle of the night and woke her up. She was heavy sleeper, so storms didn’t usually wake her.
She realized that it was the nightmare. Siena had trouble adjusting to sleeping arrangements she wasn’t used to; after spending two months on her bed at home, the Hogwarts bed seemed foreign. She got nightmares when she wasn’t comfortable and they usually didn’t wake her either, meaning that Siena was left tossing and turning in bed, unable to escape, until she naturally woke up.
Having gotten little sleep, Siena was really tired in the morning, and the gloom outside didn’t help. On top of that, Lily wanted to spend the day doing homework, so, Siena and a whining Maria went up to the Head Dorm to do homework after breakfast. Maria was really reluctant to do it, and Siena would have much rather went to sleep, but she did the work anyway.
Siena didn’t really counter her friends very often. She just went along and agreed, unless it was something harmful or bad; then, she might have had to step in.
Siena was more of a quiet person; she went unnoticed with her friends doing the talking. She didn’t think she had much for people to notice about her, though she never voiced these opinions. Her friends would try to tell her otherwise, but in all reality, what was so special about her? Average looks, regular hair and eyes, and she never talked to anybody other than Lily and Maria. She had a hard time trusting people; Maria and Lily were two of the few people that she felt comfortable around. They knew this and did their best to keep her comfortable, but it didn’t always work out. They stayed with her and took turns pairing up with her during classes and they kept other people away so as to not make her uncomfortable. Siena had a bubble and, other than her family, only Lily and Maria were let in.
That’s why Lily, being one of Slughorn’s favorites, and Maria went to him after Potions the week before and asked him if one of them could be partners with Siena instead. Slughorn had laughed and said, “I’ll put two of the Marauders together when I want my classroom destroyed!”
They had brought this news back to Siena who tried to hide her disappointment, but her friends noticed and tried to cheer her up.
Siena felt that, maybe, if it wasn’t Sirius, she would have been okay, eventually, but Sirius just intimidated her. He was popular and loud and just so…himself. He was the type of person that Siena stayed the farthest away from. Not only was his personality so hard for Siena to deal with, but there was also his reputation; he had a bad one. Siena had promised herself that she wouldn’t associate with boys like him; she couldn’t trust them. Not anymore.
It was with those thoughts that Siena sat in the Heads’ Dorm that gloomy Sunday afternoon, only half listening to Lily and Maria’s argument over homework. They did this so many times that Siena had learned to ignore it. They wouldn’t stop until they found something better to talk about.
That something better walked in to the room through the portrait hole just then. It was Remus, closely followed by Peter.
Lily and Maria stopped their argument and turned to face them while Siena turned away.
“Hi, Remus!” Maria called turning her look of frustration into a smile.
“Hi,” Remus smiled back.
“What are you doing here, without the Terrible Duo?” Lily asked raising an eyebrow.
Remus laughed. “That’s a good one, Lily. You’re quite good at that.”
Lily ignored the comment and asked,” Well?”
“James is on a top secret mission,” Peter answered her question.
“Another prank?!” Lily groaned.
Remus shook his head. “He is convinced that Sirius is hiding something, but he doesn’t know what, so he’s made it his mission to subtly find out.”
“What type of something?” Maria asked.
Remus shrugged. “Prongs won’t tell us anything. He says that he has a random hunch, but he needs to confirm it.”
“Well, do you want to join us in whatever we do, that’s not homework, if you have nothing to do?” Maria sounded awfully hopeful.
Before Remus could reply, Peter cut across him. “No, we’re just here to get James’s cover.”
“His cover?” Lily asked raising an eyebrow.
“He said he needs a book that he hasn’t read yet so that he can go up to our dormitory and have a reason for staying that won’t make Sirius suspicious.”
“Like we’re supposed to know what he has and hasn’t read,” Remus said rolling his eyes and walking over to the right side bookcase. “Come here, Wormy!” he called. “Do you know which of these he hasn’t read yet?”
Peter hurried over and looked through the books. “I don’t know which ones he hasn’t read, but I do know which ones he’s enjoy. How about we take up one we know he likes. He can tell Padfoot that he felt like rereading a favorite.”
“Brilliant,” Remus said. “Which one?”
“How about this one?” he asked holding up ‘The Outsiders.’ “He wouldn’t shut up about how he wished he was named ‘Sodapop.’ Said it was a lot more interesting than ‘James.’”
“Oh, yeah,” Remus said remembering and nodding his head. “It was when he swore he wasn’t going to go any boring way. He’d do it like Johnny.” Remus looked down at the book. “I’d been meaning to read this book ever since he said that. He never told us how Johnny went.”
There was a moment’s silence before Peter said, “We should get going. James will go off on us about how we wasted his valuable spying time.”
Remus nodded. “Bye,” he waved at the girls. “We might be back later.”
Maria smiled. “Bye, then,” she called as the portrait swung shut.
“What took you so long?!” James asked impatiently as his friends came in through the portrait hole.
“Sorry, we didn’t know which books you hadn’t already read,” Peter said when they reached him.
“So, what book did you get?”
Remus held out The Outsiders.
“I already read that!” James exclaimed.
“We know,” Remus said. “You can read it again though and tell Sirius that you felt like rereading a favorite.”
“That works,” James said nodding after a moment. “But, how did you know it was one of my favorites?”
“We remembered how you wouldn’t shut up about it after you read it,” Peter told him.
“All though,” Remus added. “You never actually got around to telling us anything about the book.”
“Yeah well, you have to read it yourself,” James said taking the book.
“I was planning on doing just that.”
“Great then,” James said turning away. “I’m going to go find out what Padfoot’s up to.”
“Wait,” Peter stopped him. “What exactly do you think he’s hiding? And why do you think he’s hiding something anyways?”
“He’s acting odd, that’s why, and I’m not sure what it is he’s hiding, or if he’s hiding anything at all, but I do know he’s not acting normal, and I’m going to find out why.” With that, James disappeared up the stairs.
“What now?” Peter asked.
Remus shrugged. “Do you have any dung bombs on you?”
Peter nodded pulling them out.
“Let’s go find some Slytherins.”
The two boys went back out the portrait hole in search of Slytherins.
James opened the door and looked in. Sirius was just sitting on his bed, staring at his guitar in front of him. He’d gotten it from his Uncle Alfred when he was little for whenever he was stuck in his room with nothing to do. He had taught himself how to play and brought it out every now and then when he was thinking.
James walked over to his old bed and sat down with his book. He had no idea how he was going to find out what Sirius was up to, so he started reading, hoping to think of something.
James had finished the first three chapters and was really getting into the book when Sirius interrupted him.
“Do you think its still dawn, or has it gone down to day?”
James stared at him in confusion. “It’s almost 4:00, so I’d say that it’s well into the day.”
Sirius shook his head. “No, I meant that poem; the one Ponyboy talks about in the book by Robert Frost.”
James was still confused, but then, a look of comprehension, then more confusion, mixed with a little amazement, appeared on his face. “You read the book?” he asked holding up The Outsiders.
Sirius nodded.
“When?”
“The summer after first year, I was stuck in my room a lot more because my parents were really ****ed that I was in Gryffindor, and my brother was complaining about the guitar, so I had to hide that, and I had nothing to do. Uncle Alfred came to see me and asked if there was anything I wanted and I remembered how you always talked about that book. I asked him to get it and he did. I’ve read it every summer I’ve been stuck there since.”
James nodded.
“You never answered though,” Sirius said after a couple minutes. “Is it dawn or day?”
James thought about that. Was it still dawn, or had the day begun? “I think,” James started off, “that for childhood, its day, or maybe nearing sunset, but for life, it’s still dawn. Our childhood is coming to an end, but our life is just beginning.”
Sirius nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”
The two fell silent again, both absorbed in their own thoughts.
“I don’t want the sun to set on our childhood,” Sirius said suddenly. “I don’t want to grow up and be an adult.”
“Neither do I,” James agreed. “But, the sun hasn’t set yet; we still have time to be kids and have fun. The sun hasn’t risen on our adult life yet. And besides, adults can have fun.”
“We’ll remain marauders forever, no matter what,” Sirius added. “Kids at heart forever.”
James nodded in agreement. “The coolest adults ever.”
They were silent again, until Sirius suddenly stood up. “It’s too early in the year to be talking about that. Let’s wait for June for that.” He took his guitar and put it in his trunk. “Let’s go have fun.”
James also stood and the two walked towards the door. Just as Sirius was reaching for the door handle, the door burst open and Remus and Peter fell in with big bundles floating behind them. The bundles fell onto Remus’s bed as he slammed the door shut. “If anyone asks, we’ve been here all afternoon.”
“What did you do?” James asked raising an eyebrow.
“We set some dung bombs in the Great Hall to go off halfway through dinner,” Peter told him and Sirius.
“What’s that?” Sirius asked pointing to the bundles.
“Food,” Remus replied. “You don’t want to be in the Great Hall when the dung bombs go off. We’re eating in here tonight.”
“Great!” Sirius exclaimed running to the food, but Remus stopped him. “That’s dinner. You can’t eat it now.”
“But I’m hungry!” Sirius whined.
“When are you not?” Peter asked.
Sirius stuck his tongue out at him.
“Very mature,” Peter mumbled walking to the food on Remus’s bed.
“Here,” Remus said pointing his wand at the food, making it disappear.
“Where’d it go?!” Sirius exclaimed running over to where the food had been.
“Like I’m telling you,” Remus laughed. “I’ll bring it back when it’s time for dinner.”
“I want it now!”
“No.”
“Come on, please?”
“No.”
“Pl–“
“No.”
“But –“
“No.”
Peter rolled his eyes and started digging around in his trunk.
James went back to his bed and picked up his book, ignoring the continuous begging of Sirius’s and Remus denying him the food.
That’s all they needed to do now; just have fun and be kids. They still had time before they had to grow up completely.
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Chapter 3: Dawn or Day
Classes for the rest of the week were a bore. The teachers started class with a speech on NEWTs, and ended it with review. When the weekend finally came, Siena was thrilled. She spent all of Saturday outside by the lake with Maria and Lily because the weather was so beautiful. They just sat and talked for the most part, though Lily brought out homework to work on. They were simply enjoying the day and were disappointed to see it end. The next day, however, was dark and rainy. It was like the clouds just came out of nowhere and covered the sky. The storm started in the middle of the night and woke her up. She was heavy sleeper, so storms didn’t usually wake her.
She realized that it was the nightmare. Siena had trouble adjusting to sleeping arrangements she wasn’t used to; after spending two months on her bed at home, the Hogwarts bed seemed foreign. She got nightmares when she wasn’t comfortable and they usually didn’t wake her either, meaning that Siena was left tossing and turning in bed, unable to escape, until she naturally woke up.
Having gotten little sleep, Siena was really tired in the morning, and the gloom outside didn’t help. On top of that, Lily wanted to spend the day doing homework, so, Siena and a whining Maria went up to the Head Dorm to do homework after breakfast. Maria was really reluctant to do it, and Siena would have much rather went to sleep, but she did the work anyway.
Siena didn’t really counter her friends very often. She just went along and agreed, unless it was something harmful or bad; then, she might have had to step in.
Siena was more of a quiet person; she went unnoticed with her friends doing the talking. She didn’t think she had much for people to notice about her, though she never voiced these opinions. Her friends would try to tell her otherwise, but in all reality, what was so special about her? Average looks, regular hair and eyes, and she never talked to anybody other than Lily and Maria. She had a hard time trusting people; Maria and Lily were two of the few people that she felt comfortable around. They knew this and did their best to keep her comfortable, but it didn’t always work out. They stayed with her and took turns pairing up with her during classes and they kept other people away so as to not make her uncomfortable. Siena had a bubble and, other than her family, only Lily and Maria were let in.
That’s why Lily, being one of Slughorn’s favorites, and Maria went to him after Potions the week before and asked him if one of them could be partners with Siena instead. Slughorn had laughed and said, “I’ll put two of the Marauders together when I want my classroom destroyed!”
They had brought this news back to Siena who tried to hide her disappointment, but her friends noticed and tried to cheer her up.
Siena felt that, maybe, if it wasn’t Sirius, she would have been okay, eventually, but Sirius just intimidated her. He was popular and loud and just so…himself. He was the type of person that Siena stayed the farthest away from. Not only was his personality so hard for Siena to deal with, but there was also his reputation; he had a bad one. Siena had promised herself that she wouldn’t associate with boys like him; she couldn’t trust them. Not anymore.
It was with those thoughts that Siena sat in the Heads’ Dorm that gloomy Sunday afternoon, only half listening to Lily and Maria’s argument over homework. They did this so many times that Siena had learned to ignore it. They wouldn’t stop until they found something better to talk about.
That something better walked in to the room through the portrait hole just then. It was Remus, closely followed by Peter.
Lily and Maria stopped their argument and turned to face them while Siena turned away.
“Hi, Remus!” Maria called turning her look of frustration into a smile.
“Hi,” Remus smiled back.
“What are you doing here, without the Terrible Duo?” Lily asked raising an eyebrow.
Remus laughed. “That’s a good one, Lily. You’re quite good at that.”
Lily ignored the comment and asked,” Well?”
“James is on a top secret mission,” Peter answered her question.
“Another prank?!” Lily groaned.
Remus shook his head. “He is convinced that Sirius is hiding something, but he doesn’t know what, so he’s made it his mission to subtly find out.”
“What type of something?” Maria asked.
Remus shrugged. “Prongs won’t tell us anything. He says that he has a random hunch, but he needs to confirm it.”
“Well, do you want to join us in whatever we do, that’s not homework, if you have nothing to do?” Maria sounded awfully hopeful.
Before Remus could reply, Peter cut across him. “No, we’re just here to get James’s cover.”
“His cover?” Lily asked raising an eyebrow.
“He said he needs a book that he hasn’t read yet so that he can go up to our dormitory and have a reason for staying that won’t make Sirius suspicious.”
“Like we’re supposed to know what he has and hasn’t read,” Remus said rolling his eyes and walking over to the right side bookcase. “Come here, Wormy!” he called. “Do you know which of these he hasn’t read yet?”
Peter hurried over and looked through the books. “I don’t know which ones he hasn’t read, but I do know which ones he’s enjoy. How about we take up one we know he likes. He can tell Padfoot that he felt like rereading a favorite.”
“Brilliant,” Remus said. “Which one?”
“How about this one?” he asked holding up ‘The Outsiders.’ “He wouldn’t shut up about how he wished he was named ‘Sodapop.’ Said it was a lot more interesting than ‘James.’”
“Oh, yeah,” Remus said remembering and nodding his head. “It was when he swore he wasn’t going to go any boring way. He’d do it like Johnny.” Remus looked down at the book. “I’d been meaning to read this book ever since he said that. He never told us how Johnny went.”
There was a moment’s silence before Peter said, “We should get going. James will go off on us about how we wasted his valuable spying time.”
Remus nodded. “Bye,” he waved at the girls. “We might be back later.”
Maria smiled. “Bye, then,” she called as the portrait swung shut.
“What took you so long?!” James asked impatiently as his friends came in through the portrait hole.
“Sorry, we didn’t know which books you hadn’t already read,” Peter said when they reached him.
“So, what book did you get?”
Remus held out The Outsiders.
“I already read that!” James exclaimed.
“We know,” Remus said. “You can read it again though and tell Sirius that you felt like rereading a favorite.”
“That works,” James said nodding after a moment. “But, how did you know it was one of my favorites?”
“We remembered how you wouldn’t shut up about it after you read it,” Peter told him.
“All though,” Remus added. “You never actually got around to telling us anything about the book.”
“Yeah well, you have to read it yourself,” James said taking the book.
“I was planning on doing just that.”
“Great then,” James said turning away. “I’m going to go find out what Padfoot’s up to.”
“Wait,” Peter stopped him. “What exactly do you think he’s hiding? And why do you think he’s hiding something anyways?”
“He’s acting odd, that’s why, and I’m not sure what it is he’s hiding, or if he’s hiding anything at all, but I do know he’s not acting normal, and I’m going to find out why.” With that, James disappeared up the stairs.
“What now?” Peter asked.
Remus shrugged. “Do you have any dung bombs on you?”
Peter nodded pulling them out.
“Let’s go find some Slytherins.”
The two boys went back out the portrait hole in search of Slytherins.
James opened the door and looked in. Sirius was just sitting on his bed, staring at his guitar in front of him. He’d gotten it from his Uncle Alfred when he was little for whenever he was stuck in his room with nothing to do. He had taught himself how to play and brought it out every now and then when he was thinking.
James walked over to his old bed and sat down with his book. He had no idea how he was going to find out what Sirius was up to, so he started reading, hoping to think of something.
James had finished the first three chapters and was really getting into the book when Sirius interrupted him.
“Do you think its still dawn, or has it gone down to day?”
James stared at him in confusion. “It’s almost 4:00, so I’d say that it’s well into the day.”
Sirius shook his head. “No, I meant that poem; the one Ponyboy talks about in the book by Robert Frost.”
James was still confused, but then, a look of comprehension, then more confusion, mixed with a little amazement, appeared on his face. “You read the book?” he asked holding up The Outsiders.
Sirius nodded.
“When?”
“The summer after first year, I was stuck in my room a lot more because my parents were really ****ed that I was in Gryffindor, and my brother was complaining about the guitar, so I had to hide that, and I had nothing to do. Uncle Alfred came to see me and asked if there was anything I wanted and I remembered how you always talked about that book. I asked him to get it and he did. I’ve read it every summer I’ve been stuck there since.”
James nodded.
“You never answered though,” Sirius said after a couple minutes. “Is it dawn or day?”
James thought about that. Was it still dawn, or had the day begun? “I think,” James started off, “that for childhood, its day, or maybe nearing sunset, but for life, it’s still dawn. Our childhood is coming to an end, but our life is just beginning.”
Sirius nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”
The two fell silent again, both absorbed in their own thoughts.
“I don’t want the sun to set on our childhood,” Sirius said suddenly. “I don’t want to grow up and be an adult.”
“Neither do I,” James agreed. “But, the sun hasn’t set yet; we still have time to be kids and have fun. The sun hasn’t risen on our adult life yet. And besides, adults can have fun.”
“We’ll remain marauders forever, no matter what,” Sirius added. “Kids at heart forever.”
James nodded in agreement. “The coolest adults ever.”
They were silent again, until Sirius suddenly stood up. “It’s too early in the year to be talking about that. Let’s wait for June for that.” He took his guitar and put it in his trunk. “Let’s go have fun.”
James also stood and the two walked towards the door. Just as Sirius was reaching for the door handle, the door burst open and Remus and Peter fell in with big bundles floating behind them. The bundles fell onto Remus’s bed as he slammed the door shut. “If anyone asks, we’ve been here all afternoon.”
“What did you do?” James asked raising an eyebrow.
“We set some dung bombs in the Great Hall to go off halfway through dinner,” Peter told him and Sirius.
“What’s that?” Sirius asked pointing to the bundles.
“Food,” Remus replied. “You don’t want to be in the Great Hall when the dung bombs go off. We’re eating in here tonight.”
“Great!” Sirius exclaimed running to the food, but Remus stopped him. “That’s dinner. You can’t eat it now.”
“But I’m hungry!” Sirius whined.
“When are you not?” Peter asked.
Sirius stuck his tongue out at him.
“Very mature,” Peter mumbled walking to the food on Remus’s bed.
“Here,” Remus said pointing his wand at the food, making it disappear.
“Where’d it go?!” Sirius exclaimed running over to where the food had been.
“Like I’m telling you,” Remus laughed. “I’ll bring it back when it’s time for dinner.”
“I want it now!”
“No.”
“Come on, please?”
“No.”
“Pl–“
“No.”
“But –“
“No.”
Peter rolled his eyes and started digging around in his trunk.
James went back to his bed and picked up his book, ignoring the continuous begging of Sirius’s and Remus denying him the food.
That’s all they needed to do now; just have fun and be kids. They still had time before they had to grow up completely.
Feedback, please!!!
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School is finally out so I can concentrate more on this now that I have no homework of stupid finals. I think I’ve got this story going now, so I should be updating more quickly now. hopefully, you all haven’t left me, yet.
Chapter 4: Smiley
Siena walked into Potions with Lily and Maria, already dreading the upcoming class. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Sirius, but she didn’t dislike him either. In all honesty, Siena was more afraid of him than anything, and who could blame her? I mean, come on; here’s this 6-foot-2 well-built, good-looking, confident, popular heart-breaker guy, and then there’s her: short, average looks (in her opinion), shy, quiet, nowhere near well known, and she had only ever been in one relationship, which ended badly.
It was hard enough for Siena to trust people, specifically boys especially after what had happen. She didn’t want to talk to Sirius and let him find out things about her, but he kept talking to her.
She’d only ever talked to one of the Marauders before, and that was Remus. He was nice enough and accepted the fact that she didn’t want to tell about herself, so he talked while she listened. For that, Siena considered him to be someone that she could at least talk to, even if it was something very little. He didn’t push her to talk, unlike Sirius who kept asking her questions and babbling on and on.
Now, Siena had to learn to get used to him because she was stuck with him until Christmas. If she had to work with someone other than Lily or Maria, than why couldn’t it be Remus instead? At least he would have left her alone.
Siena sat down at the same table as last week, away from her friends because Slughorn had made those seats their assigned seats for the term. As they walked by her, Lily and Maria gave her looks of encouragement, but they didn’t help much.
Sirius walked in just before the bell with his friends, as always, and bid them good-bye, and walked over to Siena. He smiled at her as he sat down and said, “Good morning.”
Siena was saved from having to say anything because Slughorn walked in. He talked for a few minutes, but Siena wasn’t listening; she was trying to figure out how she was going to get through this lesson with Sirius Black as her partner.
She didn’t notice that others had begun to move until she felt a hand lightly touch her arm. Siena jumped and looked around to see Sirius grinning kindly at her. “We’re making the Color Changing Potion today. Do you want to get the ingredients or do you want me to?”
“I-I’ll get them,” Siena managed to get out before rushing over to the supply closet and getting what they needed. She walked back to find Sirius kindling the fire under the cauldron. He smiled when she got back and dropped the ingredients on the table top. Siena sat back down in her seat and looked over at the open potions’ book to read the first instructions. She pulled some doxy legs towards her and started chopping them.
Sirius got to work, too, counting out spider legs. He talked to Siena throughout the first half of class as they worked, but Siena tried not to have to talk to him for fear of sounding stupid.
Halfway through the class, however, Sirius stopped talking and set down his knife. “Siena.”
She stopped chopping the roots to let him know she was listening but he said, “Can you at least look at me?”
Hesitantly, Siena lifted her gaze and set it at a point behind Sirius, afraid of what would happen if she looked at him; as scared as she was of him, Siena still found herself finding it even harder to concentrate while looking at Sirius because no one could deny that he was extremely good looking.
“Siena, could you please just try to talk to me? This is going to be hard if we can’t talk.”
Siena didn’t answer; she didn’t know how to.
“Just try so that we can at least become acquaintances.”
Siena just nodded. “I’ll try.”
Sirius smiled again at her and Siena moved her gaze to his face. Immediately, she became distracted by how good looking he was and had to turn away again, so she returned to chopping her roots.
Sirius smiled as he too got back to work, talking a mile a minute again, this time getting a bit more of a response from Siena, making him smile even more. He sure was smiley today.
~*~
“What was so important that Padfoot was hiding yesterday?” Remus asked James as they walked down to lunch. Sirius had been voted to go and get the Auto-Notes Quills for History of Magic that they had forgotten that morning.
“Oh, nothing,” James said. “He was just thinking.”
“About what?” Peter asked as they sat down to lunch.
“Life,” James replied pulling food towards himself.
“What about life?” Remus pressed.
James finished chewing and swallowed his food before replying, “Whether or not we had to grow up yet or if it was still okay to be a kid. We had a really nice, in depth conversation on it. Totally would have ruined our Marauders’ status if anybody else heard.”
“What did you conclude?”
“We don’t have to grow up until we graduate. We’ll have all our fun now, then, after we graduate, we’ll become the coolest adults ever.”
Remus rolled his eyes. “Sounds like a great plan.”
“I know right? We’re complete geniuses.”
“Who’s a genius?” Sirius asked having come back down and taken a seat next to Remus, across from James.
“We are,” James replied.
“Why?” Sirius asked. “I mean, I know I’m all great and everything, but what amazing thing did I do to get you to acknowledge it today?”
“Contributed to the awesome plan of becoming the coolest adults ever.”
“Oh, yeah,” Sirius said, pausing in his building of a tower of food on his plate. “That was brilliant, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, yes,” Remus said sarcastically. “You two are very clever. No one else could have thought of that.”
“Of course they couldn’t have,” James said. “Only Padfoot and I are that smart.” He began to shovel food into his face, stating that the conversation was done on his part.
“Definitely,” Sirius agreed before following James’s example and shoving food into his mouth.
“You guys are disgusting,” Remus said, watching them before doing the same, though he didn’t really realize.
Peter also started stuffing his face, and there they sat, filling themselves up with lunch.
~*~
So, maybe Potions wasn’t so bad. Sirius wasn’t that bad of a partner. They got the work done and he still did most of the talking, but he still pushed her to reply. True, after that deal last month, she found it a little easier to talk to him, but talking wasn’t her thing.
Neither were boys, especially boys like Sirius, but really, no boys. What really was the point of them? They just ended up breaking your heart, especially if they were like Sirius.
Why did he keep coming up?
Siena mentally shook herself. He was exactly the kind of boy to keep away from. That’s what she was reminding herself.
Wait, why did she need reminding?
“Siena, the bell rang.”
Siena jumped to find Sirius shaking her. she hadn’t been paying the slightest attention in class while Slughorn talked.
“Anything particular bugging you?” Sirius asked.
“What?”
“You seemed a bit out of it today while we were working on the potion and you were paying no attention to Slughorn talking just now.”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Siena said quickly getting up.
“You sure?” he asked. “If you need to talk –“
“I’m fine,” Siena said making her way to the door. Halfway there, she stopped and turned back to him. “What exactly was Slughorn talking about?”
Sirius chuckled a said, “I was waiting for you to ask that. He said that we have to waork together on some project he would officially assign in a few weeks, sort of as an end of term thing, something about ‘applying your working together outside of class,’” he rolled his eyes.
“What exactly does that mean?” Siena asked hoping he didn’t mean what she thought he meant.
“It means that we’ll be spending plenty of time together before the holiday break.”
Great, just great.
So, I’d love some feedback, even though this is quite a pathetic chapter after having disappeared for almost a month.
Is the feedback asking too much???
Please have some pity on me!
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Chapter 5: Werewolves
“Guess what?” James asked rushing into the boy’s dormitories after dinner on a Saturday night in the middle of October.
“What?” Remus asked bored as he worked on his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay.
“Oh, honestly, Moony,” Sirius said rolling his eyes as he emerged from the pile of food he’d brought up from dinner. He wanted to eat more, but the others had been done for a while and James had to go talk to Dumbeldore, so the others had forced him out of the Great Hall, but he had to bring the food with him. “That essay’s on Werewolves how are you, of all people, the one doing it the weekend before it’s due?”
“Well, like you said, it’s about werewolves, so it’s the easiest one and I therefore put it off as the last one so I could focus my energy on the harder essays.”
“Great logic,” James said, rushed. “Now put the essay away and listen to me.” He waited until everyone had focused their attention on him before continuing. “Next month, you are all going to find out that we are having a Christmas Ball.”
“That’s it,” Peter asked.
“Yes.”
“We aren’t girls, Prongs. We aren’t going to start shrieking and talking about dresses and makeup.”
“Yes, but I’m sure Padfoot would love to hear that we are supposed to have dates,” James said glancing at his best friend.
“Well, obviously,” Remus said rolling his eyes. “It’s a ball; of course we have to have dates.”
James ignored him and watched Sirius curiously. He hadn’t jumped up and started listing girls that he could ask right away like he usually did when he heard of a Hogsmeade visit. That was unusual for Sirius.
Remus and Peter seemed to have noticed as well. “You alright, Padfoot?” Remus asked setting aside his essay.
Sirius jerked his head up and replied, “Yeah, I’m fine.” Then, he dove back into his food, looking like the usual Sirius that we all know and love.
The thing was, James saw that he wasn’t the same Sirius; something had changed about him, and James was determined to find out what it was.
~*~
“Hey, you guys,” Lily said walking over to her friends in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. “What are you doing?”
“Defense essay,” Siena replied without looking up from her essay. “What do you know about werewolves?”
“Plenty,” Maria replied bitterly. “They are cruel, heartless beasts and should all die a cold, harsh death.”
Lily and Siena exchanged looks. Time to change the subject.
“I’ll finish this later.” Siena said putting her essay aside.
“Guess what?” Lily asked excitedly.
“All werewolves have died off?” Maria asked hopefully.
Lily saddened, but covered it up quickly. “No, but we are having a Christmas Ball!”
Maria instantly cheered up and started talking about boys she wanted to go with. “Gryffindors consist of the Marauders or boys that I have already dated, Slytherins are all scum, and so that leaves Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, except I’ve already dated about a fourth of the Ravenclaws and a third of the Hufflepuffs; there is Kevin Homes, Jacob Daniels, Carl Stone, Troy Finn, -“
Lily rolled her eyes and pulled out her Ruins essay to finish up while Siena pretended to listen to Maria while actually trying to think of an excuse to not go to the Ball. She could get mysteriously sick, or go home for Christmas. But if she got sick, Lily and Maria would take her to Madame Pomfrey, and if she said she was going home for Christmas, Lily and Maria would talk her out of it. And there was no way she was going to go to the Ball. Lily and Maria were bound to have dates and Siena was bound to not. Who would ask her? Exactly: no one. She was not going to go alone, and she wasn’t going to intrude on Lily and Maria’s dates. If she said that she just didn’t want to go, Siena would be dragged there instantly.
Siena sighed; she now had two months to get out of a Christmas Ball.
~*~
Maria had now been grumpy since the previous Thursday. Remus could see that James was having a hard time making a Potion with a grumpy Maria. That, and he was worried about her. Maria was generally a happy person, so if something was annoying her enough to make her act like this, it was bad. The last time Remus had seen her like this was after the Defense OWL in fifth year and before that was in third year.
Remus was currently making a minor sleeping draught with Lily in Potions, but he couldn’t help but notice Maria’s mood.
“Lily?” he asked.
“Yeah?” she replied.
“What’s wrong with Maria?”
“What do you mean?” she asked looking over at Maria who was scowling at her potion. “Oh, well, she just…she just isn’t in the mood to go to Defense tomorrow,” Lily explained carefully.
“Why not?” Remus pressed
“Well, I’d rather not say. It’s really her business.”
Remus shrugged. “Fair enough,” he replied, but he was still worried about her as she threw doxy wings into the potion. What was bothering Maria?
~*~
Remus’s question was answered in Defense Against the Dark Arts the next day.
The Marauders were in their usual seats in the back of the room, and the girls were in their usual seats in the front. The class started out with Professor Keller collecting the werewolf essays.
Once she had them piled neatly on her desk, she introduced the days lesson. “I am going to call on each of you, and when I do, you are to give me a fact about werewolves. Depending on what you tell me, you will be awarded House points; is that clear?”
The Marauders exchanged looks; this was going to be an easy class.
“Alright,” Professor Keller began. “We’ll start in the back with Mr. Black and go in order up to the front. Mr. Black?”
“When they transform, werewolves lose their minds. They don’t remember anything, and would attack their best friend if he crossed their path. They can’t really control what they do.”
“15 points. Mr. Potter?”
“Werewolf bites don’t effect animal, so they can’t really harm them. They have an odd relationship with animals and are less violent when they are with animals.”
“Another 15 points. Mr. Lupin?”
“Each month they go through extremely painful transformations. The pain could be unbearably to a small child, easily killing the child. The pain is so great that some compare it to the Cruciatus Curse,” Remus said darkly.
“Take another 15. Mr. Pettigrew?”
“They are extremely strong and could easily break every bone in the human body if they tried.”
“10. Miss Andrews?”
“They turn into werewolves every month on the new moon,” Heidi answered smartly.
“Every full moon, Miss Andrews,” the professor corrected. “2 points. Miss Daniels?” Olivia and Tessa answered in the same way causing others to roll their eyes.
“Mr. Snape?” Professor Keller asked.
“Werewolves are extremely violent creatures and could very easily kill you. they are very dangerous and it would be wise to stay away from them,” Snape answered smugly looking pointedly towards the Marauders. Remus focused his gaze on the table top while his friends glared at Snape.
“5 points. Miss Black?”
“The Dark Lord is recruiting werewolves so I’d watch my back if I were you lot,” she said proudly.
“Detention, see me after class. Mr. Lestrange?”
The rest of the Slytherins responded the same as the first two.
Finally, Keller reached the front of the room to Lily’s table.
After awarding both Lily and Siena 10 points each, Professor Keller turned to Maria. “Miss Goldstein, anything you can think of that hasn’t been mentioned?”
“Yeah, I’m surprised that everyone forgot that werewolves are evil to the core and would be best if they all went to ****,” she replied sweetly, just as the bell rang.
That was horrible after my absence, I know. I wouldn’t blame you all if you decided to hate me, but maybe just a little feedback?
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
“Guess what?” James asked rushing into the boy’s dormitories after dinner on a Saturday night in the middle of October.
“What?” Remus asked bored as he worked on his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay.
“Oh, honestly, Moony,” Sirius said rolling his eyes as he emerged from the pile of food he’d brought up from dinner. He wanted to eat more, but the others had been done for a while and James had to go talk to Dumbeldore, so the others had forced him out of the Great Hall, but he had to bring the food with him. “That essay’s on Werewolves how are you, of all people, the one doing it the weekend before it’s due?”
“Well, like you said, it’s about werewolves, so it’s the easiest one and I therefore put it off as the last one so I could focus my energy on the harder essays.”
“Great logic,” James said, rushed. “Now put the essay away and listen to me.” He waited until everyone had focused their attention on him before continuing. “Next month, you are all going to find out that we are having a Christmas Ball.”
“That’s it,” Peter asked.
“Yes.”
“We aren’t girls, Prongs. We aren’t going to start shrieking and talking about dresses and makeup.”
“Yes, but I’m sure Padfoot would love to hear that we are supposed to have dates,” James said glancing at his best friend.
“Well, obviously,” Remus said rolling his eyes. “It’s a ball; of course we have to have dates.”
James ignored him and watched Sirius curiously. He hadn’t jumped up and started listing girls that he could ask right away like he usually did when he heard of a Hogsmeade visit. That was unusual for Sirius.
Remus and Peter seemed to have noticed as well. “You alright, Padfoot?” Remus asked setting aside his essay.
Sirius jerked his head up and replied, “Yeah, I’m fine.” Then, he dove back into his food, looking like the usual Sirius that we all know and love.
The thing was, James saw that he wasn’t the same Sirius; something had changed about him, and James was determined to find out what it was.
~*~
“Hey, you guys,” Lily said walking over to her friends in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. “What are you doing?”
“Defense essay,” Siena replied without looking up from her essay. “What do you know about werewolves?”
“Plenty,” Maria replied bitterly. “They are cruel, heartless beasts and should all die a cold, harsh death.”
Lily and Siena exchanged looks. Time to change the subject.
“I’ll finish this later.” Siena said putting her essay aside.
“Guess what?” Lily asked excitedly.
“All werewolves have died off?” Maria asked hopefully.
Lily saddened, but covered it up quickly. “No, but we are having a Christmas Ball!”
Maria instantly cheered up and started talking about boys she wanted to go with. “Gryffindors consist of the Marauders or boys that I have already dated, Slytherins are all scum, and so that leaves Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, except I’ve already dated about a fourth of the Ravenclaws and a third of the Hufflepuffs; there is Kevin Homes, Jacob Daniels, Carl Stone, Troy Finn, -“
Lily rolled her eyes and pulled out her Ruins essay to finish up while Siena pretended to listen to Maria while actually trying to think of an excuse to not go to the Ball. She could get mysteriously sick, or go home for Christmas. But if she got sick, Lily and Maria would take her to Madame Pomfrey, and if she said she was going home for Christmas, Lily and Maria would talk her out of it. And there was no way she was going to go to the Ball. Lily and Maria were bound to have dates and Siena was bound to not. Who would ask her? Exactly: no one. She was not going to go alone, and she wasn’t going to intrude on Lily and Maria’s dates. If she said that she just didn’t want to go, Siena would be dragged there instantly.
Siena sighed; she now had two months to get out of a Christmas Ball.
~*~
Maria had now been grumpy since the previous Thursday. Remus could see that James was having a hard time making a Potion with a grumpy Maria. That, and he was worried about her. Maria was generally a happy person, so if something was annoying her enough to make her act like this, it was bad. The last time Remus had seen her like this was after the Defense OWL in fifth year and before that was in third year.
Remus was currently making a minor sleeping draught with Lily in Potions, but he couldn’t help but notice Maria’s mood.
“Lily?” he asked.
“Yeah?” she replied.
“What’s wrong with Maria?”
“What do you mean?” she asked looking over at Maria who was scowling at her potion. “Oh, well, she just…she just isn’t in the mood to go to Defense tomorrow,” Lily explained carefully.
“Why not?” Remus pressed
“Well, I’d rather not say. It’s really her business.”
Remus shrugged. “Fair enough,” he replied, but he was still worried about her as she threw doxy wings into the potion. What was bothering Maria?
~*~
Remus’s question was answered in Defense Against the Dark Arts the next day.
The Marauders were in their usual seats in the back of the room, and the girls were in their usual seats in the front. The class started out with Professor Keller collecting the werewolf essays.
Once she had them piled neatly on her desk, she introduced the days lesson. “I am going to call on each of you, and when I do, you are to give me a fact about werewolves. Depending on what you tell me, you will be awarded House points; is that clear?”
The Marauders exchanged looks; this was going to be an easy class.
“Alright,” Professor Keller began. “We’ll start in the back with Mr. Black and go in order up to the front. Mr. Black?”
“When they transform, werewolves lose their minds. They don’t remember anything, and would attack their best friend if he crossed their path. They can’t really control what they do.”
“15 points. Mr. Potter?”
“Werewolf bites don’t effect animal, so they can’t really harm them. They have an odd relationship with animals and are less violent when they are with animals.”
“Another 15 points. Mr. Lupin?”
“Each month they go through extremely painful transformations. The pain could be unbearably to a small child, easily killing the child. The pain is so great that some compare it to the Cruciatus Curse,” Remus said darkly.
“Take another 15. Mr. Pettigrew?”
“They are extremely strong and could easily break every bone in the human body if they tried.”
“10. Miss Andrews?”
“They turn into werewolves every month on the new moon,” Heidi answered smartly.
“Every full moon, Miss Andrews,” the professor corrected. “2 points. Miss Daniels?” Olivia and Tessa answered in the same way causing others to roll their eyes.
“Mr. Snape?” Professor Keller asked.
“Werewolves are extremely violent creatures and could very easily kill you. they are very dangerous and it would be wise to stay away from them,” Snape answered smugly looking pointedly towards the Marauders. Remus focused his gaze on the table top while his friends glared at Snape.
“5 points. Miss Black?”
“The Dark Lord is recruiting werewolves so I’d watch my back if I were you lot,” she said proudly.
“Detention, see me after class. Mr. Lestrange?”
The rest of the Slytherins responded the same as the first two.
Finally, Keller reached the front of the room to Lily’s table.
After awarding both Lily and Siena 10 points each, Professor Keller turned to Maria. “Miss Goldstein, anything you can think of that hasn’t been mentioned?”
“Yeah, I’m surprised that everyone forgot that werewolves are evil to the core and would be best if they all went to ****,” she replied sweetly, just as the bell rang.
That was horrible after my absence, I know. I wouldn’t blame you all if you decided to hate me, but maybe just a little feedback?
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
Chapter 6: Something’s Up
Lily sat staring at the book. To read or not to read? James said it was a good book, but since when did se trust James’s judgment?
Wait, since when did she call him James?
Potter. Potter said it was a good book.
Lily was trying to decide whether or not to read to The Outsiders. Acquaintances read books recommended by each other, right? So she could read the book, right?
“Oh, come on, Lily, just read the damn book!” Maria broke into her thoughts.
“I don’t know if I have time,” Lily replied.
Maria rolled her eyes. “That book is tiny! You read your Potions books in a week and their like 300 pounds!”
“Exaggerate much?” Siena cut into her.
“You know what I mean,” Maria sighed. “Just read it Lils.”
“It’s not going to kill, Lily,” Siena said to her. “Sirius was talking about that book last week in Potions. From his babble, I concluded that it was a good book.”
Lily looked at her curiously. “What exactly do you talk about in Potions? He’s always talking in that class.”
Siena shrugged. “Whatever he feels like talking about that particular day.”
“Self-centered much?” Maria muttered.
“It’s not really like that,” Siena said. “He just starts the conversation because since when was I such a great conversation starter? If you hadn’t noticed, I’m not much of a talker.”
Yep, something was up with Siena. Lily had been noticing it over the past couple of weeks. She talked a little more, but it was as if when she realized that she was doing so, she went back to her old self.
Right on cue, Siena noticed Lily looking at her and stood up. “I’m going to sleep; I’m pretty tired.” With that, she disappeared up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories.
“There’s something up with her,” Maria said the second she was gone.
“I know,” Lily agreed looking up the stairs her friend had disappeared up.
“What do you think it is?” Maria asked.
Lily shrugged. “I think we’ll have to keep a closer eye on her from now on.”
~*~
Remus was not in a good mood. Lily could see that. He didn’t talk during Potions and she noticed that he barely talked to his friends. He seemed a bit downhearted lately. For about a week now, Remus hadn’t talked to his friends unless spoken to, and turned around if he saw Lily and her friends approaching.
His friends didn’t seem to be doing much about it. On the contrary, they were almost encouraging him.
During the last Potions class, Lily decided to talk to him to find out what was going on. What she found out: nothing.
*Flashback*
“Hey Remus!” she greeted him cheerfully.
“Hi,” he mumbled as he sat down, not returning her cheer.
Lily’s smile fell and she looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. “Are you alright?” she asked carefully.
“Oh, just peachy,” he replied. Lily didn’t know whether the sarcasm was supposed to be there or not.
“Are you sure? You’ve been acting a bit off, lately.”
“I’m fine, Lily!” he shouted. “Just leave me alone!”
*End Flashback*
Remus knew she was trying to be nice, but he really just wasn’t in the mood for it. He knew he’d been snapping at people all week, so he tried to not talk at all.
His friends knew the reason behind his mood and left him alone.
The thing was, though, Remus didn’t really understand why he was particularly bothered by this. He knew that there were bound to be plenty of people in the school alone, if not everyone other than the Marauders, that shared her view, but it had him bothered that she thought that.
What was the big deal? It was just some dark-haired chick who didn’t like werewolves. Big deal; most people didn’t.
Still, the idea of Maria Goldstein practically wanting to murder him disturbed him.
True, if anybody wanted to murder him, he’d be bothered, but Maria hating him so much upset him more than he expected.
Remus glared some more at the canopy of his bed. His mind was seriously frustrating him.
The whole week, James, Sirius, and Peter hadn’t really said anything about it, but they kept exchanging looks, as if they knew something. What was it? What could they possibly know about him that he didn’t know about himself? Could they know why he was so bothered?
Well, obviously they knew; they were in the class at the time.
Remus was confusing himself. He decided to go to sleep; he’d get over it.
~*~
“What’d you want, Prongs?” Peter asked walking into his room in the Heads’ Dorm. “The other two are bound to get suspicious.”
“Just tell them that I was helping you with Transfigurations or something,” James said offhandedly. “Besides, this is important.”
“What’s going on?” Peter asked sitting on the bed.
“Sirius and Remus are acting weird.”
“Well, we know that Remus is just bugged by Defense last week.”
“Yes,” James agreed, “but do we know why he’s so bugged?”
“Well, if you were werewolf and a classmate of yours told all werewolves to go to hell, you’d be pretty annoyed too, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, I’d be annoyed, but I wouldn’t snap at everyone and anyone for a full week, showing no signs of stopping.”
“What are you getting at, James?” Peter sighed.
“Remus has a tiny little crush on Maria Goldstein,” James replied triumphantly.
“What?” Peter jerked his head up and didn’t sound so annoyed with James now. “What makes you say that?”
“I’m an observant one,” James said smiling smugly. “I know these things.”
Peter looked at him skeptically. This was not James’s area of expertise.
“Okay, fine, it’s just a bit obvious,” James resigned. “I mean, you could tell by the way he’d always talk to her before, and now he’s completely ****ed.”
Peter thought about it. It was true. Remus had been more than happy to talk to, and about, Maria. Also, when Snape found out, he’d just said, “It’s not like I care much about his opinion anyway; when someone who’s judgment counts comes along and shows prejudice against werewolves, I’ll be annoyed.”
James was right; Remus had a crush on Maria and she hated werewolves. Wasn’t that just wonderful?
“Well?” James pulled Peter out of his thoughts. “Am I right?”
“Yes, I think you actually are,” Peter replied. “What do we do about this?”
“I haven’t really gotten that for in my thinking yet, Pete. We’ll think of something, though.”
“So, what was this about Sirius?” Peter asked, changing the subject.
“Well, I don’t think he’s been himself lately,” James stated.
“What do you mean?”
“He hasn’t dated a single girl this whole year, he barely talks to any girls nowadays, and he seems really excited for Potions,” James listed.
“Well, he’s dated practically every girl he could, and he isn’t one to date a girl more than once…” Peter started with a shrug.
“No, that’s not what I mean,” James said shaking his head.
“Then, what do you mean?” Peter asked.
“Our little Sirius has got a crush, and it isn’t little.”
“Sirius has a big crush on a girl?” Peter asked disbelievingly.
“Well, it could be a guy, but –“
“That’s gross, James,” Peter said looking disgusted while James smirked. “I think I’ve seen him with enough girls to know –“
“Potter!” Lily yelled from the common room. “We have to go patrol!”
“Alright, I’ll be out in a sec!” James yelled back.
“No, you’ll be down here right now!” she shouted back. She didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” James yelled getting up.
“Hold on, James,” Peter stopped him. “Do you know who he likes?”
James smirked. “Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me?” Peter asked after James didn’t continue.
“Maybe…”
“Prongs!”
“Potter!” Lily shouted again.
“Let’s go before she comes in here and decapitates me,” James said heading for the door.
“James, tell me!”
James sighed. “Siena.”
“Lily’s friend?”
“Yes.”
“The blonde one?”
“Yes.”
“The one that doesn’t talk to anybody other than Lily and Maria?”
“And Sirius,” James added.
Peter stared at him in shock. Was he being serious?
~*~
Lily marched over to the door to James’s room and was about to scream again when a faint voice asked, “Our Sirius Black has a crush on Siena Vertenella?”
Lily stood in shock.
“Yes Peter, that is what I said,” James answered.
“But-but, he’s Sirius!”
“Yeah, and I think he is actually growing up, after we concluded that we wouldn’t do that yet. Just you wait and watch; he’s going to ruin our plan and start talking about dawn and day again while staring at that guitar of his.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. He’s been determined to get her to talk to him, and when she did, he started acting like he was high, he looks at her way more often than necessary, he looks happy to be in Potion, and he is acting so…different. Trust me, this is more than a little crush, and it’s lasted longer than a couple of months. I know these things; he’s my best friend, remember?”
Lily stood in shock in the moment of silence. This made no sense, whatsoever. This was Sirius Black! And that was Siena. There is a line when you say opposites attract.
“We’d better go,” James’s voice came again. “I seriously wouldn’t doubt that she’d decapitate me.”
Lily turned to get away from the door, but it opened before she’d taken a single step. She turned slowly to face James.
“How, long have you been there,” he asked.
“Long enough,” Lily replied.
James sighed. “Don’t say anything okay; we’ll talk during the patrol. I’m serious.”
Lily looked at him skeptically and then looked past him at Peter who nodded.
This was turning out to be a very odd night.
~*~
“Talk,” Lily demanded.
James sighed as they walked down the corridor. “Sirius likes Siena, a lot.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Lily shook her head.
“But he does.”
“He can’t!” Lily exclaimed. “Not Siena!”
“Why not?”
“Because…because he’s…Sirius!”
James stopped and turned to look Lily right in the eye. “Look, you don’t have to like him, and you can think whatever you want about him, but it doesn’t make it true.”
Lily looked at James, shocked. “What are you saying?”
“I know you think Sirius is all bad and just messes around with girls –“
“Which is true,” Lily interrupted him. “You know it is.”
There was a moment’s silence, then James sighed. “Fine, you’re right, but it’s not like he actually liked any of those girls.”
Lily looked at him; if he was trying to help Sirius’s case, he was doing a bad job.
“Yes, I know that’s bad, but he actually likes Siena; it’s completely different from before.”
“But why would he like her?” Lily cried out, frustrated. “They just don’t fit.”
“Ever heard of opposites attract?”James asked as he started walking again.
“But…you said he’s liked her longer than this year. He didn’t even know her until Potions this year.”
Lily,” James sighed. “Potions might have been the first time they talked, but after being in the same house and year for 6 years, you know people.”
“Oh, come on,” Lily said. “Barely anyone even knows she exists.”
“You don’t give her enough credit. People notice her. Sirius defiantly did. I don’t know when, but it was before this year.”
“But how could he have liked her if he hadn’t talked to her?”
“You don’t have to talk to someone to like them,” James answered. “You have to know what they’re like.”
“How do you know if you don’t talk to them?” Lily challenged.
“You see how they talk to and treat other people; you just notice little things.”
Lily looked at James skeptically; this was not James Potter; he was actually making sense.
They walked in silence back to their common room. Lily went straight to her room and pulled out The Outsiders and began to read. James could be right.
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Lily sat staring at the book. To read or not to read? James said it was a good book, but since when did se trust James’s judgment?
Wait, since when did she call him James?
Potter. Potter said it was a good book.
Lily was trying to decide whether or not to read to The Outsiders. Acquaintances read books recommended by each other, right? So she could read the book, right?
“Oh, come on, Lily, just read the damn book!” Maria broke into her thoughts.
“I don’t know if I have time,” Lily replied.
Maria rolled her eyes. “That book is tiny! You read your Potions books in a week and their like 300 pounds!”
“Exaggerate much?” Siena cut into her.
“You know what I mean,” Maria sighed. “Just read it Lils.”
“It’s not going to kill, Lily,” Siena said to her. “Sirius was talking about that book last week in Potions. From his babble, I concluded that it was a good book.”
Lily looked at her curiously. “What exactly do you talk about in Potions? He’s always talking in that class.”
Siena shrugged. “Whatever he feels like talking about that particular day.”
“Self-centered much?” Maria muttered.
“It’s not really like that,” Siena said. “He just starts the conversation because since when was I such a great conversation starter? If you hadn’t noticed, I’m not much of a talker.”
Yep, something was up with Siena. Lily had been noticing it over the past couple of weeks. She talked a little more, but it was as if when she realized that she was doing so, she went back to her old self.
Right on cue, Siena noticed Lily looking at her and stood up. “I’m going to sleep; I’m pretty tired.” With that, she disappeared up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories.
“There’s something up with her,” Maria said the second she was gone.
“I know,” Lily agreed looking up the stairs her friend had disappeared up.
“What do you think it is?” Maria asked.
Lily shrugged. “I think we’ll have to keep a closer eye on her from now on.”
~*~
Remus was not in a good mood. Lily could see that. He didn’t talk during Potions and she noticed that he barely talked to his friends. He seemed a bit downhearted lately. For about a week now, Remus hadn’t talked to his friends unless spoken to, and turned around if he saw Lily and her friends approaching.
His friends didn’t seem to be doing much about it. On the contrary, they were almost encouraging him.
During the last Potions class, Lily decided to talk to him to find out what was going on. What she found out: nothing.
*Flashback*
“Hey Remus!” she greeted him cheerfully.
“Hi,” he mumbled as he sat down, not returning her cheer.
Lily’s smile fell and she looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. “Are you alright?” she asked carefully.
“Oh, just peachy,” he replied. Lily didn’t know whether the sarcasm was supposed to be there or not.
“Are you sure? You’ve been acting a bit off, lately.”
“I’m fine, Lily!” he shouted. “Just leave me alone!”
*End Flashback*
Remus knew she was trying to be nice, but he really just wasn’t in the mood for it. He knew he’d been snapping at people all week, so he tried to not talk at all.
His friends knew the reason behind his mood and left him alone.
The thing was, though, Remus didn’t really understand why he was particularly bothered by this. He knew that there were bound to be plenty of people in the school alone, if not everyone other than the Marauders, that shared her view, but it had him bothered that she thought that.
What was the big deal? It was just some dark-haired chick who didn’t like werewolves. Big deal; most people didn’t.
Still, the idea of Maria Goldstein practically wanting to murder him disturbed him.
True, if anybody wanted to murder him, he’d be bothered, but Maria hating him so much upset him more than he expected.
Remus glared some more at the canopy of his bed. His mind was seriously frustrating him.
The whole week, James, Sirius, and Peter hadn’t really said anything about it, but they kept exchanging looks, as if they knew something. What was it? What could they possibly know about him that he didn’t know about himself? Could they know why he was so bothered?
Well, obviously they knew; they were in the class at the time.
Remus was confusing himself. He decided to go to sleep; he’d get over it.
~*~
“What’d you want, Prongs?” Peter asked walking into his room in the Heads’ Dorm. “The other two are bound to get suspicious.”
“Just tell them that I was helping you with Transfigurations or something,” James said offhandedly. “Besides, this is important.”
“What’s going on?” Peter asked sitting on the bed.
“Sirius and Remus are acting weird.”
“Well, we know that Remus is just bugged by Defense last week.”
“Yes,” James agreed, “but do we know why he’s so bugged?”
“Well, if you were werewolf and a classmate of yours told all werewolves to go to hell, you’d be pretty annoyed too, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, I’d be annoyed, but I wouldn’t snap at everyone and anyone for a full week, showing no signs of stopping.”
“What are you getting at, James?” Peter sighed.
“Remus has a tiny little crush on Maria Goldstein,” James replied triumphantly.
“What?” Peter jerked his head up and didn’t sound so annoyed with James now. “What makes you say that?”
“I’m an observant one,” James said smiling smugly. “I know these things.”
Peter looked at him skeptically. This was not James’s area of expertise.
“Okay, fine, it’s just a bit obvious,” James resigned. “I mean, you could tell by the way he’d always talk to her before, and now he’s completely ****ed.”
Peter thought about it. It was true. Remus had been more than happy to talk to, and about, Maria. Also, when Snape found out, he’d just said, “It’s not like I care much about his opinion anyway; when someone who’s judgment counts comes along and shows prejudice against werewolves, I’ll be annoyed.”
James was right; Remus had a crush on Maria and she hated werewolves. Wasn’t that just wonderful?
“Well?” James pulled Peter out of his thoughts. “Am I right?”
“Yes, I think you actually are,” Peter replied. “What do we do about this?”
“I haven’t really gotten that for in my thinking yet, Pete. We’ll think of something, though.”
“So, what was this about Sirius?” Peter asked, changing the subject.
“Well, I don’t think he’s been himself lately,” James stated.
“What do you mean?”
“He hasn’t dated a single girl this whole year, he barely talks to any girls nowadays, and he seems really excited for Potions,” James listed.
“Well, he’s dated practically every girl he could, and he isn’t one to date a girl more than once…” Peter started with a shrug.
“No, that’s not what I mean,” James said shaking his head.
“Then, what do you mean?” Peter asked.
“Our little Sirius has got a crush, and it isn’t little.”
“Sirius has a big crush on a girl?” Peter asked disbelievingly.
“Well, it could be a guy, but –“
“That’s gross, James,” Peter said looking disgusted while James smirked. “I think I’ve seen him with enough girls to know –“
“Potter!” Lily yelled from the common room. “We have to go patrol!”
“Alright, I’ll be out in a sec!” James yelled back.
“No, you’ll be down here right now!” she shouted back. She didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” James yelled getting up.
“Hold on, James,” Peter stopped him. “Do you know who he likes?”
James smirked. “Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me?” Peter asked after James didn’t continue.
“Maybe…”
“Prongs!”
“Potter!” Lily shouted again.
“Let’s go before she comes in here and decapitates me,” James said heading for the door.
“James, tell me!”
James sighed. “Siena.”
“Lily’s friend?”
“Yes.”
“The blonde one?”
“Yes.”
“The one that doesn’t talk to anybody other than Lily and Maria?”
“And Sirius,” James added.
Peter stared at him in shock. Was he being serious?
~*~
Lily marched over to the door to James’s room and was about to scream again when a faint voice asked, “Our Sirius Black has a crush on Siena Vertenella?”
Lily stood in shock.
“Yes Peter, that is what I said,” James answered.
“But-but, he’s Sirius!”
“Yeah, and I think he is actually growing up, after we concluded that we wouldn’t do that yet. Just you wait and watch; he’s going to ruin our plan and start talking about dawn and day again while staring at that guitar of his.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. He’s been determined to get her to talk to him, and when she did, he started acting like he was high, he looks at her way more often than necessary, he looks happy to be in Potion, and he is acting so…different. Trust me, this is more than a little crush, and it’s lasted longer than a couple of months. I know these things; he’s my best friend, remember?”
Lily stood in shock in the moment of silence. This made no sense, whatsoever. This was Sirius Black! And that was Siena. There is a line when you say opposites attract.
“We’d better go,” James’s voice came again. “I seriously wouldn’t doubt that she’d decapitate me.”
Lily turned to get away from the door, but it opened before she’d taken a single step. She turned slowly to face James.
“How, long have you been there,” he asked.
“Long enough,” Lily replied.
James sighed. “Don’t say anything okay; we’ll talk during the patrol. I’m serious.”
Lily looked at him skeptically and then looked past him at Peter who nodded.
This was turning out to be a very odd night.
~*~
“Talk,” Lily demanded.
James sighed as they walked down the corridor. “Sirius likes Siena, a lot.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Lily shook her head.
“But he does.”
“He can’t!” Lily exclaimed. “Not Siena!”
“Why not?”
“Because…because he’s…Sirius!”
James stopped and turned to look Lily right in the eye. “Look, you don’t have to like him, and you can think whatever you want about him, but it doesn’t make it true.”
Lily looked at James, shocked. “What are you saying?”
“I know you think Sirius is all bad and just messes around with girls –“
“Which is true,” Lily interrupted him. “You know it is.”
There was a moment’s silence, then James sighed. “Fine, you’re right, but it’s not like he actually liked any of those girls.”
Lily looked at him; if he was trying to help Sirius’s case, he was doing a bad job.
“Yes, I know that’s bad, but he actually likes Siena; it’s completely different from before.”
“But why would he like her?” Lily cried out, frustrated. “They just don’t fit.”
“Ever heard of opposites attract?”James asked as he started walking again.
“But…you said he’s liked her longer than this year. He didn’t even know her until Potions this year.”
Lily,” James sighed. “Potions might have been the first time they talked, but after being in the same house and year for 6 years, you know people.”
“Oh, come on,” Lily said. “Barely anyone even knows she exists.”
“You don’t give her enough credit. People notice her. Sirius defiantly did. I don’t know when, but it was before this year.”
“But how could he have liked her if he hadn’t talked to her?”
“You don’t have to talk to someone to like them,” James answered. “You have to know what they’re like.”
“How do you know if you don’t talk to them?” Lily challenged.
“You see how they talk to and treat other people; you just notice little things.”
Lily looked at James skeptically; this was not James Potter; he was actually making sense.
They walked in silence back to their common room. Lily went straight to her room and pulled out The Outsiders and began to read. James could be right.
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She’s back!!!
Okay, so I’m so sorry for being gone for so long. I was back July 26, took a shower, and went straight to bed before being dragged off to my uncle and aunts house. Apparently, at the camp I went to, the last night is meant for eating Taco Bell before 2:30, donuts after 6:30, packing, singing really loudly, throwing candy at people, running through the dorms, saying goodbye to people who have to leave and 3:30am, and sleeping in between, if six very tired girls on one twin sized bed for an hour with one blanket in silence and the lights on with their eyes closed but unable to sleep counts as sleeping. So yeah, I was tired when I got back, so I didn’t get around to doing anything much.
When I did get to the computer, sometime the next day, I got to the stories and just went down the list in the order they’re in on my computer. This is going to be copy and pasted on to all of my stories, so some of this might not apply; it just depends on where the said story is on the list and how long the chapter took. Depending on how long after July 26 the next chapter has been added, I’m really sorry about the wait, however long it may be.
Okay, so, enough of that. All you people care about is the next chapter, so let me get to that.
Wow, that was long; if you read all of that, you truly do have amazing patience.
Okay, story.
Enjoy!
Chapter 7: Odd Week
“James!” Lily yelled from the common room. Yes, she was calling him James now, much to her surprise. She no longer thought that James was as bad as she had used to think, which was funny because if she looked closely, there was no difference in his behavior from the previous years.
“I’m coming!” James shouted back down.
“If you’re talking with Peter again about Sirius and –“
“Shut up, Lily!” James yelled, running out of his room with a frantic expression, Sirius right behind looking bemused, intrigued, and confused, all at the same time.
“You and Peter talk about me?” he asked with a slightly joking manner. “Whatever could you be saying?”
“Oh, you know, the usual,” James answered. “How dull and thick you are.”
“Hey!” Sirius cried indignantly. “What have I ever done to make you think of me as dull and thick?”
“Well, your trying to keep secrets for one thing,” James began. “Then there’s how you don’t even realize when your poorly kept secrets have been discovered.”
“Are you trying to get at something?” Sirius asked suspiciously.
James shrugged. “What secrets do you have?”
Sirius looked blank, then his eyes went wide and he gapped at James. “Y-you don’t mean –“
Lily rolled her eyes. James was very bad at this.
“He’s just playing with you, Sirius,” Lily cut in. “He doesn’t know anything. Though, from the looks of it, you are trying to hide something.”
Sirius turned to Lily with a mixture of relief and fear.
Lily sent him a wink and then turned to the portrait hole and called, “Patrols started 5 minutes ago.”
Sirius stared at Lily’s retreating back in horror, then turned to James’s smirking face.
“Don’t let me catch you out after hours,” he said before following Lily out and turning right to begin the patrol while Sirius ran out and turned left towards the Fat Lady.
“You are very bad at hiding that you know something,” Lily sad to James as they set off.
“So are you,” James pointed out. “He knows perfectly well that we know something after that wink.”
“The smirk didn’t help!” Lily shot back. “Or the whole ‘What secrets do you have’ thing!”
James shrugged.
The two walked in silence for a while, thinking things through. It was Friday night, so curfew was an hour later, meaning patrols started and ended an hour later.
It had been a very odd week to say the very least.
First there was Remus. He was still snapping at everybody and seemed less than happy. He had also taken to glaring at Maria every time he saw her. It also didn’t help that he’d seemed to be getting sick again and had disappeared from classes that day, since the night before.
Then there was Siena who had become still more outspoken. Her shyness was steadily retreating, much to Lily and Maria’s shock, confusion, and happiness. They were glad that she was becoming more herself, but were also surprised by it and curious as to the sudden change in her behavior, though Lily did have a hunch after seeing Siena’s cheer at the prospect of Potions and the twinkle in her eye as she talked away with Sirius.
After what she had overheard the week before, Lily had also started keeping a closer eye on Sirius. She discovered quite a few things. For one, he no longer took notice of the girls that stalked him everywhere and had not been seen flirting with any female the entire week. He also seemed to always be on time to Potions, which was funny because he was still late to every other class. When she was trying to distract herself from Remus’s grumpiness in Potions, Lily had noticed that Sirius did indeed seem cheerful while talking with Siena as they made their Potions. When it wasn’t a practical lesson, Sirius lifted his eyes from his parchment or text book quite often to catch a glimpse of Siena, then turning away with a slight smile playing across his lips. Lily had concluded that James had been right.
Then there was Maria’s constant worry about Remus’s unhappy mood. She kept asking Lily about it; as if she knew. After listening to Mary talk, she had come to the conclusion that Sirius wasn’t the only one with a crush.
The biggest surprise, however, was that from what was kind of like acquaintances, she and James had moved into what was almost something in between acquaintances and friends. They weren’t close to friends yet, but better than acquaintances; they talked more than “Hi,” “Hello,” but not about personal matters yet. Their relationship was hard to define.
“Lily!”
“What?” She turned to James with a confused expression.
“You got lost,” James said looking at her curiously. “You alright?”
“Yeah, fine.”
As the pair was about to turn left into a corridor, they heard giggling and retreating footsteps behind them. When they rounded the corridor, there was nothing. At the end of the hall, there were two more corridors: one going right and the other going left.
“Left or right?” James asked Lily.
“Right,” she answered.
“Then I’ll go left. Come get me if you find anything.”
You too,” Lily said before turning right into the corridor.
~*~
James went left and looked down the hall. Seeing nothing, he walked farther down the corridor, recognizing that he was just a few turns away from the library. At the end of the corridor, he went the only way, right.
At the end of that corridor was a right turn. Why did the castle have to have so many turns and hallways? As he reached the middle of the corridor, he could have continued straight to the library, or he could go left or right.
Going right, he would end up in the corridor Lily was investigating, and going left, he would be on one of the paths towards the Common room
Deciding that there was probably no one there, James decided to look down the left hall before going right to see if Lily had found anyone.
Turning into the dim corridor, James saw a dark shadow on the ground at the end of the hall. As he walked, James tried to make out what it was that he was seeing and pulling out his wand.
The torches as he neared whatever it was had been blown out, so James couldn’t quite make it out, even when he was only five feet away.
‘Lumos,’ he thought.
As the tip of his wand lit up, James let out a gasp.
~*~
“Oi, Vertenella!”
Siena turned and shifted her books slightly. She was leaving the library with a few books she needed for her Transfigurations essay and had 10 minutes to get back to the common room.
“What are you up to?” Olivia Daniels asked.
“H-heading back to the common room,” Siena replied. This encounter couldn’t end well, and she knew it. Siena tried to keep from betraying her fear as she watched Tessa and Heidi smirk at her from behind Olivia.
“Oh, we’ll walk with you,” Olivia said with a sickly sweet smile.
“O-okay,” Siena turned and began walking again at a faster pace.
“Slow down, Vertenella,” Tessa called.
“We don’t bite,” Heidi said as the three girls caught up.
Maybe not, but they weren’t sweet little puppies either. They may be stupid, but when they were unhappy, they were quite dangerous, and right now, they seemed dangerous.
Right on cue, the torches on either side went out at their end of the hallway and she heard Olivia shout a spell before she flew into the air, books and bag flying out of her hands.
Siena heard a sickening crunch as her head made contact with the wall.
As she slid to the ground, Siena felt pain in her head and something hot trickling down the side of her face as her eyes filled with tears.
“That’ll teach you to keep away from Sirius,” she faintly heard before everything went black.
Short, but I didn’t get any feedback, so you can’t expect too much, can you?
Maybe this will teach you to leave some feedback, or this fic will end up on the bottom of my update priority list. You wouldn’t want that, now would you?
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Common message on all fics: If I see that my three current stories are still doing well, then I have this other one that I’m thinking about posting after I finish Come Back to Me, which is sadly coming to an end
Just keep that in mid cuz my newest fanfic is totally different and exciting and I swear this is not a bribe for feedback [completely].
If you want me to post the new story, then just let me know in the feedback thread for any of my stories. If you don’t then don’t tell me to and I won’t bother.
Love always
chocolaterox
Okay, so I’m so sorry for being gone for so long. I was back July 26, took a shower, and went straight to bed before being dragged off to my uncle and aunts house. Apparently, at the camp I went to, the last night is meant for eating Taco Bell before 2:30, donuts after 6:30, packing, singing really loudly, throwing candy at people, running through the dorms, saying goodbye to people who have to leave and 3:30am, and sleeping in between, if six very tired girls on one twin sized bed for an hour with one blanket in silence and the lights on with their eyes closed but unable to sleep counts as sleeping. So yeah, I was tired when I got back, so I didn’t get around to doing anything much.
When I did get to the computer, sometime the next day, I got to the stories and just went down the list in the order they’re in on my computer. This is going to be copy and pasted on to all of my stories, so some of this might not apply; it just depends on where the said story is on the list and how long the chapter took. Depending on how long after July 26 the next chapter has been added, I’m really sorry about the wait, however long it may be.
Okay, so, enough of that. All you people care about is the next chapter, so let me get to that.
Wow, that was long; if you read all of that, you truly do have amazing patience.
Okay, story.
Enjoy!
Chapter 7: Odd Week
“James!” Lily yelled from the common room. Yes, she was calling him James now, much to her surprise. She no longer thought that James was as bad as she had used to think, which was funny because if she looked closely, there was no difference in his behavior from the previous years.
“I’m coming!” James shouted back down.
“If you’re talking with Peter again about Sirius and –“
“Shut up, Lily!” James yelled, running out of his room with a frantic expression, Sirius right behind looking bemused, intrigued, and confused, all at the same time.
“You and Peter talk about me?” he asked with a slightly joking manner. “Whatever could you be saying?”
“Oh, you know, the usual,” James answered. “How dull and thick you are.”
“Hey!” Sirius cried indignantly. “What have I ever done to make you think of me as dull and thick?”
“Well, your trying to keep secrets for one thing,” James began. “Then there’s how you don’t even realize when your poorly kept secrets have been discovered.”
“Are you trying to get at something?” Sirius asked suspiciously.
James shrugged. “What secrets do you have?”
Sirius looked blank, then his eyes went wide and he gapped at James. “Y-you don’t mean –“
Lily rolled her eyes. James was very bad at this.
“He’s just playing with you, Sirius,” Lily cut in. “He doesn’t know anything. Though, from the looks of it, you are trying to hide something.”
Sirius turned to Lily with a mixture of relief and fear.
Lily sent him a wink and then turned to the portrait hole and called, “Patrols started 5 minutes ago.”
Sirius stared at Lily’s retreating back in horror, then turned to James’s smirking face.
“Don’t let me catch you out after hours,” he said before following Lily out and turning right to begin the patrol while Sirius ran out and turned left towards the Fat Lady.
“You are very bad at hiding that you know something,” Lily sad to James as they set off.
“So are you,” James pointed out. “He knows perfectly well that we know something after that wink.”
“The smirk didn’t help!” Lily shot back. “Or the whole ‘What secrets do you have’ thing!”
James shrugged.
The two walked in silence for a while, thinking things through. It was Friday night, so curfew was an hour later, meaning patrols started and ended an hour later.
It had been a very odd week to say the very least.
First there was Remus. He was still snapping at everybody and seemed less than happy. He had also taken to glaring at Maria every time he saw her. It also didn’t help that he’d seemed to be getting sick again and had disappeared from classes that day, since the night before.
Then there was Siena who had become still more outspoken. Her shyness was steadily retreating, much to Lily and Maria’s shock, confusion, and happiness. They were glad that she was becoming more herself, but were also surprised by it and curious as to the sudden change in her behavior, though Lily did have a hunch after seeing Siena’s cheer at the prospect of Potions and the twinkle in her eye as she talked away with Sirius.
After what she had overheard the week before, Lily had also started keeping a closer eye on Sirius. She discovered quite a few things. For one, he no longer took notice of the girls that stalked him everywhere and had not been seen flirting with any female the entire week. He also seemed to always be on time to Potions, which was funny because he was still late to every other class. When she was trying to distract herself from Remus’s grumpiness in Potions, Lily had noticed that Sirius did indeed seem cheerful while talking with Siena as they made their Potions. When it wasn’t a practical lesson, Sirius lifted his eyes from his parchment or text book quite often to catch a glimpse of Siena, then turning away with a slight smile playing across his lips. Lily had concluded that James had been right.
Then there was Maria’s constant worry about Remus’s unhappy mood. She kept asking Lily about it; as if she knew. After listening to Mary talk, she had come to the conclusion that Sirius wasn’t the only one with a crush.
The biggest surprise, however, was that from what was kind of like acquaintances, she and James had moved into what was almost something in between acquaintances and friends. They weren’t close to friends yet, but better than acquaintances; they talked more than “Hi,” “Hello,” but not about personal matters yet. Their relationship was hard to define.
“Lily!”
“What?” She turned to James with a confused expression.
“You got lost,” James said looking at her curiously. “You alright?”
“Yeah, fine.”
As the pair was about to turn left into a corridor, they heard giggling and retreating footsteps behind them. When they rounded the corridor, there was nothing. At the end of the hall, there were two more corridors: one going right and the other going left.
“Left or right?” James asked Lily.
“Right,” she answered.
“Then I’ll go left. Come get me if you find anything.”
You too,” Lily said before turning right into the corridor.
~*~
James went left and looked down the hall. Seeing nothing, he walked farther down the corridor, recognizing that he was just a few turns away from the library. At the end of the corridor, he went the only way, right.
At the end of that corridor was a right turn. Why did the castle have to have so many turns and hallways? As he reached the middle of the corridor, he could have continued straight to the library, or he could go left or right.
Going right, he would end up in the corridor Lily was investigating, and going left, he would be on one of the paths towards the Common room
Deciding that there was probably no one there, James decided to look down the left hall before going right to see if Lily had found anyone.
Turning into the dim corridor, James saw a dark shadow on the ground at the end of the hall. As he walked, James tried to make out what it was that he was seeing and pulling out his wand.
The torches as he neared whatever it was had been blown out, so James couldn’t quite make it out, even when he was only five feet away.
‘Lumos,’ he thought.
As the tip of his wand lit up, James let out a gasp.
~*~
“Oi, Vertenella!”
Siena turned and shifted her books slightly. She was leaving the library with a few books she needed for her Transfigurations essay and had 10 minutes to get back to the common room.
“What are you up to?” Olivia Daniels asked.
“H-heading back to the common room,” Siena replied. This encounter couldn’t end well, and she knew it. Siena tried to keep from betraying her fear as she watched Tessa and Heidi smirk at her from behind Olivia.
“Oh, we’ll walk with you,” Olivia said with a sickly sweet smile.
“O-okay,” Siena turned and began walking again at a faster pace.
“Slow down, Vertenella,” Tessa called.
“We don’t bite,” Heidi said as the three girls caught up.
Maybe not, but they weren’t sweet little puppies either. They may be stupid, but when they were unhappy, they were quite dangerous, and right now, they seemed dangerous.
Right on cue, the torches on either side went out at their end of the hallway and she heard Olivia shout a spell before she flew into the air, books and bag flying out of her hands.
Siena heard a sickening crunch as her head made contact with the wall.
As she slid to the ground, Siena felt pain in her head and something hot trickling down the side of her face as her eyes filled with tears.
“That’ll teach you to keep away from Sirius,” she faintly heard before everything went black.
Short, but I didn’t get any feedback, so you can’t expect too much, can you?
Maybe this will teach you to leave some feedback, or this fic will end up on the bottom of my update priority list. You wouldn’t want that, now would you?
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
Common message on all fics: If I see that my three current stories are still doing well, then I have this other one that I’m thinking about posting after I finish Come Back to Me, which is sadly coming to an end
Just keep that in mid cuz my newest fanfic is totally different and exciting and I swear this is not a bribe for feedback [completely].
If you want me to post the new story, then just let me know in the feedback thread for any of my stories. If you don’t then don’t tell me to and I won’t bother.
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chocolaterox
So sorry for being gone for so long, but I’m back! (Duh)
Chapter 8: Anger and Jealousy
James quickly hurried across the remaining space and bent down over Siena, quickly concluding that she was still alive, but unconscious. From the looks of it, she had hit her head on the wall, and it wasn’t an accident.
Ignoring the books and bag, James picked Siena up in his arms and practically ran her to the Hospital Wing, which was, luckily, close by.
“Madame Pomfrey!” James yelled as he burst into the hospital.
“James?”
“Hey Remus. Madame Pomfrey!”
“What is going on!” the nurse burst out of her office with her wand lit. “There are patients trying to get some rest in here!”
“It’s just Remus, besides I –“
The nurse noticed the unconscious girl’s bloody body in his arms and immediately snapped into worried nurse mode. “What happen to her?”
“I don’t know,” James replied. “I found her while doing my patrols. It looks like she was thrown into a wall or something. The torches were out where I found her.”
“Put her in a bed,” the nurse said quickly as she relit the room. “I’m sorry Mr. Lupin, but I need the light.”
“Never mind,” Remus shook his head, looking concernedly at Siena who was now in the bed next to his with James sitting in the chair in between them.
The nurse was muttering under her breath and waving her wand over Siena’s lifeless form.
James and Remus watched intently, waiting for the nurse to tell them something.
Finally, she stopped and raised her head, and James and Remus waited. “It’s worse than it looks. The worst part is that I can only tell you what’s wrong, but not how bad,” the nurse said gravely. “She lost a lot of blood. It seems that someone used the Reducto Curse on her, straight into a wall. The collision caused a fractured skull and a concussion.”
“How long will she be out?” Remus asked.
“It’s hard to say,” Madame Pomfrey replied, “But it will be more than twenty-four hours.”
“Is there anything you can do?” James asked her.
“Not much until she wakes up and I can see the extent of the damage. Right now, I can only fix the skull and bandage her head.”
“Could you do that now?”
“Oh, yes.” The nurse quickly did so and then went in her office and came back out with a clipboard. “Either of you boys know her name?”
“Siena Vertenella,” they both replied together.
“She’s a seventh year Gryffindor,” James added as Madame Pomfrey wrote it all down with her self-inking quill.
“I need to go get Professor Dumbledore. The girl was clearly attacked and we need to see what we can find out.”
The second the door had swung shut behind her, Remus turned to James and said, “I bet you anything it was Daniels and her lot.”
James nodded. “Besides them, only Slytherins would dislike her enough to attack her, but I’m sure they would have used some Dark Magic, way beyond the Reducto.”
“But why would they do it?” Remus asked.
“’Cause Sirius has a huge crush on her,” James replied.
“He what?!” Remus exclaimed.
“Kinda obvious to those who aren’t moping over Maria.”
“What?”
James winked at him, but was kept from saying anything due to the return of the nurse, followed by the Headmaster, and McGonagall right behind her.
“Dear Lord,” McGonagall exclaimed, looking down at Siena’s unconscious form.
“And you have no idea how it happened?” Dumbledore asked.
“Only that it was a Reducto, straight into a wall,” Madame Pomfrey replied.
“Where did you say she was found?” Professor Dumbledore asked.
“I found her on the fifth floor, at the end of the back left corridor by the library with the lights all out,” James answered. “I saw a bunch of books; it looked like she was returning to the common room from the library.”
“I will have to go look around there, thank you James,” Dumbledore nodded.
“Who would do such a thing, though?” Professor McGonagall asked, shaking her head.
James and Remus exchanged looks. Should they tell them their suspicions?
Professor Dumbledore noticed their exchange. “Is there anything you know, boys?” he asked.
“Well, we have a hunch,” Remus began.
“But it’s kind of silly,” James finished.
“And what is this…hunch?” the old professor asked.
“Well, while we were patrolling, Lily and I heard girls giggling which is why we split up, searching in opposite directions, and I came across Siena,” James told him. “I don’t know if Lily found anyone, but Remus and I think it might have been…”
“Yes?”
“I’m not really sure, but it could have been, Olivia Daniels and two of her friends,” James finished quickly, shooting a look at Remus who nodded.
“And why do you suspect Miss Daniels?” Dumbledore asked.
“Well, she sort of has a…thing for Sirius, and Siena’s his Potions’ partner and…”
Dumbledore nodded, as if considering, while Remus was stifling laughter.
“And you think she would attack Miss Vertenella?”
“Her friend, Heidi Andrews, tried to get Lily last year because…” James trailed off, turning slightly red, while Remus silently laughed some more and Dumbledore nodded again with a small smile. “Jealousy causes rash actions.”
“Could it have been anyone else?” McGonagall asked.
“There was something I was thinking of,” Professor Dumbledore said. “There is a possibility of Death Eaters.”
His statement was followed by silence.
Remus, who was no longer laughing glanced and James who looked back at him, both thinking the same thing.
“In the castle?” Pomfrey asked quietly, an air of fear in her voice.
“Slytherins,” James said softly.
“But would You-know-who really –“
“Voldemort,” Dumbledore began, ignoring the two women’s shivers, “would want spies everywhere, and he’d be wanting to recruit as many as possible.”
“That is true, Professor,” James spoke up. “But if it really was one of Voldemort’s Death Eaters, wouldn’t they have used something worse than a simple Reducto?”
Dumbledore smiled slightly with a tiny proud spark in his eyes. “That is true, but also a possibility we cannot rule out.”
“I’ll talk to Lily and the other Prefects?”
Dumbledore nodded. “Thank you, James. If anyone saw anything, please bring them up to my office, immediately. Now, Minerva, we should head back to bed and let Poppy finish her work. James, I’m sure Miss Evans is looking for you; you’re patrols are almost over.”
“Goodnight, Professor.”
“Goodnight, James,” Professor Dumbledore nodded. “Hope you feel well soon, Mr. Lupin.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
“Come, Minerva.”
The two walked out, the doors swinging shut behind them.
Madame Pomfrey bustled around in her office, coming back out with a small vial of green potion she tipped into to Siena’s mouth.
“What’s that for?” Remus asked.
“It’s to help with her head,” the nurse replied. “Now, Mr. Lupin, sleep, and Mr. Potter, to your dorm,” she commanded before returning to her office.
James rose from his seat and turned to Remus. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning with the others, including Maria,” he added. Remus frowned, but James just rolled his eyes. “I get that it’s hard, but she’ll get over it.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Remus waved it off. “We have to talk about that later.”
“Goodnight, Moony.”
“Bye, James.”
~*~
James walked back toward the Heads’ Dorm in silence. He had to be ready to answer Lily’s questions, and second thing the next day, he had to talk to the rest of the Prefects, just in case it was some Slytherins Death Eater, though he doubted it. It was pretty likely that Olivia got [Mod Deleted] and tracked Siena down.
James came out in the corridor he had found her in and saw that her books and stuff were still scattered across the ground. He relit the torches so that he could see and picked her things up. Standing up, James saw looked up at the wall he had found Siena’s unconscious form against. Some ten feet up, there was blood splattered on the wall. James shuddered and looked down and saw that there was some blood on the ground as well.
Anger flooded through him, taking control of his mind. All he could think of was anger.
James stomped off, leaving the blood, hoping that when the Headmaster saw it, it would mean more detention for Daniels and her stupid [Mod Deleted] friends.
James shouted the password at the woman who jumped and swung open. He stomped into the common room and dropped Siena’s things on the ground, finally stopping and leaning against the wall, taking a deep breath.
“James?” Lily had been waiting for him.
“Did you find them?”
Lily jumped at his tone, but asked, “Who?”
“Daniels and her stupid [Mod Deleted]!”
“James, what’s wrong?”
“Did you –“
“Yes, they said they were heading back to the common room and got lost.” Lily rolled her eyes, standing from her chair and approaching him. “Where have you been?” she asked. “And what’s wrong with you?”
James didn’t reply, only closed his eyes and tried to keep himself from getting on his broom and flying straight into the girls’ dorms and do something he would regret.
Lily stooped down and picked up the bag he’d dropped. She stood again and looked at James curiously. “Isn’t this Sie – Is that blood?!”
James eyes flew open as Lily dropped the bag and looked at her hands, the bag, and the books scattered on the ground. James looked down at his hands and found that they were, indeed, covered in blood. Looking down at his shirt, he found more.
Lily looked up at James and saw the blood on him as well. “James, what happened?” she asked fearfully.
James only shook his head, another bout of anger filling him at the sight of the blood. Siena’s blood. And why? Because of jealousy? A stupid girl’s stupid desire for what she can’t have; what she knows isn’t hers. So she tried to make it hers. How was this supposed to help? Would he change his mind because she was unconscious? Did she believe that?
“James?” Lily was looking from the bag, where Siena’s name was stitched into a corner, to the blood, and back at James. “What happen to her?”
“From the looks of it, she was on her way back from the library when Daniels attacked her.”
Lily’s eyes widened in fear and filled with tears, threatening to spill over. “What –“
James glared at the blood on his hands. “Reducto 10 feet up, straight into a wall,” he answered through gritted teeth. He clenched his fists and looked up at Lily’s fearful face, his anger plain. “She lost a lot of blood, got a fractured skull, and has a concussion. Madame Pomfrey doesn’t know how bad it is.”
“I-I have to go see her.” Lily scrambled to the portrait hole, but James held her back.
“She’s completely out of it. There’s nothing you can do. Madame Pomfrey’s doing everything she can.”
“But what if –“
“Remus is in there. If anything changes, he’ll let us know right away,” James replied.
Lily didn’t care at the moment about why Remus was in the Hospital Wing, though she should, and she didn’t pause to wonder how he would let them know. All she cared about was Siena. Lily couldn’t imagine Siena, so small, being thrown into a wall. The though made her shudder.
James gently led her back to the sofa and sat her dawn. He pushed away his anger for the time being, comforting Lily instead.
“How bad is she?”
“Do you want the truth?”
Lily nodded, not looking up at James.
James sighed, thinking back to the time he’d found Siena on the ground, Siena unconscious in the bed, cover in blood, Siena looking as if she were sleeping peacefully, if only she wasn’t so still. “She looks so small and frail. She looked horrible, covered in blood, but Pomfrey cleaned her up. Her head’s all bandaged. She could be sleeping, but she doesn’t move. She could be dead, but you can see her breathing, unevenly. At first glance, she looks okay, but looking closer, you can see she’s hurt.”
Lily had let her tears finally fall. She finally cried for Siena while James put his arm around her, letting her tears soak his shirt. Both slowly fell asleep, their thoughts being only of hope for Siena.
Feedback is greatly appreciated
Mod Edit: You've been here long enough to know that cursing in any way is not permitted. Do not do it in future. There are a great many words you could use instead.
Chapter 8: Anger and Jealousy
James quickly hurried across the remaining space and bent down over Siena, quickly concluding that she was still alive, but unconscious. From the looks of it, she had hit her head on the wall, and it wasn’t an accident.
Ignoring the books and bag, James picked Siena up in his arms and practically ran her to the Hospital Wing, which was, luckily, close by.
“Madame Pomfrey!” James yelled as he burst into the hospital.
“James?”
“Hey Remus. Madame Pomfrey!”
“What is going on!” the nurse burst out of her office with her wand lit. “There are patients trying to get some rest in here!”
“It’s just Remus, besides I –“
The nurse noticed the unconscious girl’s bloody body in his arms and immediately snapped into worried nurse mode. “What happen to her?”
“I don’t know,” James replied. “I found her while doing my patrols. It looks like she was thrown into a wall or something. The torches were out where I found her.”
“Put her in a bed,” the nurse said quickly as she relit the room. “I’m sorry Mr. Lupin, but I need the light.”
“Never mind,” Remus shook his head, looking concernedly at Siena who was now in the bed next to his with James sitting in the chair in between them.
The nurse was muttering under her breath and waving her wand over Siena’s lifeless form.
James and Remus watched intently, waiting for the nurse to tell them something.
Finally, she stopped and raised her head, and James and Remus waited. “It’s worse than it looks. The worst part is that I can only tell you what’s wrong, but not how bad,” the nurse said gravely. “She lost a lot of blood. It seems that someone used the Reducto Curse on her, straight into a wall. The collision caused a fractured skull and a concussion.”
“How long will she be out?” Remus asked.
“It’s hard to say,” Madame Pomfrey replied, “But it will be more than twenty-four hours.”
“Is there anything you can do?” James asked her.
“Not much until she wakes up and I can see the extent of the damage. Right now, I can only fix the skull and bandage her head.”
“Could you do that now?”
“Oh, yes.” The nurse quickly did so and then went in her office and came back out with a clipboard. “Either of you boys know her name?”
“Siena Vertenella,” they both replied together.
“She’s a seventh year Gryffindor,” James added as Madame Pomfrey wrote it all down with her self-inking quill.
“I need to go get Professor Dumbledore. The girl was clearly attacked and we need to see what we can find out.”
The second the door had swung shut behind her, Remus turned to James and said, “I bet you anything it was Daniels and her lot.”
James nodded. “Besides them, only Slytherins would dislike her enough to attack her, but I’m sure they would have used some Dark Magic, way beyond the Reducto.”
“But why would they do it?” Remus asked.
“’Cause Sirius has a huge crush on her,” James replied.
“He what?!” Remus exclaimed.
“Kinda obvious to those who aren’t moping over Maria.”
“What?”
James winked at him, but was kept from saying anything due to the return of the nurse, followed by the Headmaster, and McGonagall right behind her.
“Dear Lord,” McGonagall exclaimed, looking down at Siena’s unconscious form.
“And you have no idea how it happened?” Dumbledore asked.
“Only that it was a Reducto, straight into a wall,” Madame Pomfrey replied.
“Where did you say she was found?” Professor Dumbledore asked.
“I found her on the fifth floor, at the end of the back left corridor by the library with the lights all out,” James answered. “I saw a bunch of books; it looked like she was returning to the common room from the library.”
“I will have to go look around there, thank you James,” Dumbledore nodded.
“Who would do such a thing, though?” Professor McGonagall asked, shaking her head.
James and Remus exchanged looks. Should they tell them their suspicions?
Professor Dumbledore noticed their exchange. “Is there anything you know, boys?” he asked.
“Well, we have a hunch,” Remus began.
“But it’s kind of silly,” James finished.
“And what is this…hunch?” the old professor asked.
“Well, while we were patrolling, Lily and I heard girls giggling which is why we split up, searching in opposite directions, and I came across Siena,” James told him. “I don’t know if Lily found anyone, but Remus and I think it might have been…”
“Yes?”
“I’m not really sure, but it could have been, Olivia Daniels and two of her friends,” James finished quickly, shooting a look at Remus who nodded.
“And why do you suspect Miss Daniels?” Dumbledore asked.
“Well, she sort of has a…thing for Sirius, and Siena’s his Potions’ partner and…”
Dumbledore nodded, as if considering, while Remus was stifling laughter.
“And you think she would attack Miss Vertenella?”
“Her friend, Heidi Andrews, tried to get Lily last year because…” James trailed off, turning slightly red, while Remus silently laughed some more and Dumbledore nodded again with a small smile. “Jealousy causes rash actions.”
“Could it have been anyone else?” McGonagall asked.
“There was something I was thinking of,” Professor Dumbledore said. “There is a possibility of Death Eaters.”
His statement was followed by silence.
Remus, who was no longer laughing glanced and James who looked back at him, both thinking the same thing.
“In the castle?” Pomfrey asked quietly, an air of fear in her voice.
“Slytherins,” James said softly.
“But would You-know-who really –“
“Voldemort,” Dumbledore began, ignoring the two women’s shivers, “would want spies everywhere, and he’d be wanting to recruit as many as possible.”
“That is true, Professor,” James spoke up. “But if it really was one of Voldemort’s Death Eaters, wouldn’t they have used something worse than a simple Reducto?”
Dumbledore smiled slightly with a tiny proud spark in his eyes. “That is true, but also a possibility we cannot rule out.”
“I’ll talk to Lily and the other Prefects?”
Dumbledore nodded. “Thank you, James. If anyone saw anything, please bring them up to my office, immediately. Now, Minerva, we should head back to bed and let Poppy finish her work. James, I’m sure Miss Evans is looking for you; you’re patrols are almost over.”
“Goodnight, Professor.”
“Goodnight, James,” Professor Dumbledore nodded. “Hope you feel well soon, Mr. Lupin.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
“Come, Minerva.”
The two walked out, the doors swinging shut behind them.
Madame Pomfrey bustled around in her office, coming back out with a small vial of green potion she tipped into to Siena’s mouth.
“What’s that for?” Remus asked.
“It’s to help with her head,” the nurse replied. “Now, Mr. Lupin, sleep, and Mr. Potter, to your dorm,” she commanded before returning to her office.
James rose from his seat and turned to Remus. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning with the others, including Maria,” he added. Remus frowned, but James just rolled his eyes. “I get that it’s hard, but she’ll get over it.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Remus waved it off. “We have to talk about that later.”
“Goodnight, Moony.”
“Bye, James.”
~*~
James walked back toward the Heads’ Dorm in silence. He had to be ready to answer Lily’s questions, and second thing the next day, he had to talk to the rest of the Prefects, just in case it was some Slytherins Death Eater, though he doubted it. It was pretty likely that Olivia got [Mod Deleted] and tracked Siena down.
James came out in the corridor he had found her in and saw that her books and stuff were still scattered across the ground. He relit the torches so that he could see and picked her things up. Standing up, James saw looked up at the wall he had found Siena’s unconscious form against. Some ten feet up, there was blood splattered on the wall. James shuddered and looked down and saw that there was some blood on the ground as well.
Anger flooded through him, taking control of his mind. All he could think of was anger.
James stomped off, leaving the blood, hoping that when the Headmaster saw it, it would mean more detention for Daniels and her stupid [Mod Deleted] friends.
James shouted the password at the woman who jumped and swung open. He stomped into the common room and dropped Siena’s things on the ground, finally stopping and leaning against the wall, taking a deep breath.
“James?” Lily had been waiting for him.
“Did you find them?”
Lily jumped at his tone, but asked, “Who?”
“Daniels and her stupid [Mod Deleted]!”
“James, what’s wrong?”
“Did you –“
“Yes, they said they were heading back to the common room and got lost.” Lily rolled her eyes, standing from her chair and approaching him. “Where have you been?” she asked. “And what’s wrong with you?”
James didn’t reply, only closed his eyes and tried to keep himself from getting on his broom and flying straight into the girls’ dorms and do something he would regret.
Lily stooped down and picked up the bag he’d dropped. She stood again and looked at James curiously. “Isn’t this Sie – Is that blood?!”
James eyes flew open as Lily dropped the bag and looked at her hands, the bag, and the books scattered on the ground. James looked down at his hands and found that they were, indeed, covered in blood. Looking down at his shirt, he found more.
Lily looked up at James and saw the blood on him as well. “James, what happened?” she asked fearfully.
James only shook his head, another bout of anger filling him at the sight of the blood. Siena’s blood. And why? Because of jealousy? A stupid girl’s stupid desire for what she can’t have; what she knows isn’t hers. So she tried to make it hers. How was this supposed to help? Would he change his mind because she was unconscious? Did she believe that?
“James?” Lily was looking from the bag, where Siena’s name was stitched into a corner, to the blood, and back at James. “What happen to her?”
“From the looks of it, she was on her way back from the library when Daniels attacked her.”
Lily’s eyes widened in fear and filled with tears, threatening to spill over. “What –“
James glared at the blood on his hands. “Reducto 10 feet up, straight into a wall,” he answered through gritted teeth. He clenched his fists and looked up at Lily’s fearful face, his anger plain. “She lost a lot of blood, got a fractured skull, and has a concussion. Madame Pomfrey doesn’t know how bad it is.”
“I-I have to go see her.” Lily scrambled to the portrait hole, but James held her back.
“She’s completely out of it. There’s nothing you can do. Madame Pomfrey’s doing everything she can.”
“But what if –“
“Remus is in there. If anything changes, he’ll let us know right away,” James replied.
Lily didn’t care at the moment about why Remus was in the Hospital Wing, though she should, and she didn’t pause to wonder how he would let them know. All she cared about was Siena. Lily couldn’t imagine Siena, so small, being thrown into a wall. The though made her shudder.
James gently led her back to the sofa and sat her dawn. He pushed away his anger for the time being, comforting Lily instead.
“How bad is she?”
“Do you want the truth?”
Lily nodded, not looking up at James.
James sighed, thinking back to the time he’d found Siena on the ground, Siena unconscious in the bed, cover in blood, Siena looking as if she were sleeping peacefully, if only she wasn’t so still. “She looks so small and frail. She looked horrible, covered in blood, but Pomfrey cleaned her up. Her head’s all bandaged. She could be sleeping, but she doesn’t move. She could be dead, but you can see her breathing, unevenly. At first glance, she looks okay, but looking closer, you can see she’s hurt.”
Lily had let her tears finally fall. She finally cried for Siena while James put his arm around her, letting her tears soak his shirt. Both slowly fell asleep, their thoughts being only of hope for Siena.
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Mod Edit: You've been here long enough to know that cursing in any way is not permitted. Do not do it in future. There are a great many words you could use instead.
Chapter 9: Even Worse
James walked slowly down to the Great Hall the next morning. Lily had jumped up and ran straight to the hospital wing when she awoke and she asked James to pass the news on to Maria.
How was he supposed to tell the girl that her best friend was knocked out in the hospital wing because of her roommates? James had no idea.
He had already gone up to Dumbledore and told him about how Lily had found Olivia, Heidi, and Tessa close to where he had found Siena.
James had barely entered the Great Hall when Maria jumped up from the Gryffindor table and ran towards him.
“Where’s Lily? I can’t find Siena. She never came back last night and she hasn’t slept in her bed at all. I need t to talk to Lily!”
James held up his hand, silencing Maria.
“Lily’s in the Hospital Wing.”
“What’s she doing there?!” Maria screeched, attracting the attention of quite a few people.
“Visiting Siena,” James answered quietly.
“What’s she doing there?!”
“Being unconscious,” James answered her.
Maria blinked at him and then quickly ran off at top speed.
James stood there for a second. Olivia, Heidi, and Tessa were sitting at the Gryffindor table.
He calmed himself and then walked to the Gryffindor table, making sure to glare at Olivia and her friends on the way, before sitting down with Sirius, and Peter.
“James?” Sirius said as James played with his toast. “Maria was having a heart attack over Siena. Do you know anything?”
James nodded.
“What?”
James didn’t answer. He was still really out of it after what had happened. He didn’t know how to feel. He wasn’t exactly friends with Siena, but he was still furious at Olivia. Her stupid jealousy had made a big mess of everything. Lily had completely broken down and Maria didn’t seem to be taking it well; her blank expression had scared James.
Sirius wasn’t going to take this well either. It was actually quite obvious that he had it bad for Siena. Even now, Sirius looked so worried and concerned.
“James?”
He looked up at Sirius and answered him.
“She’s in the hospital wing because Olivia and her lot went and shot her straight into a wall.”
Sirius looked back at him without saying a word.
James observed him, waiting to see what he would do next.
“Sirius, do you want to go see her?”
Sirius snapped out of whatever reverie he was in and shot up. James and Peter got up too and followed him up to the hospital wing.
~*~
“Lily, what happened?” Maria asked as she burst into the hospital wing.
Lily looked up at her with blank eyes before looking back down at Siena’s unconscious form.
“James found her and brought her here,” Lily replied. “It was Olivia and the others; I found them in the corridors during patrols.”
Maria gaped. “But why?”
“Well,” Lily said, “it’s supposed to be a secret, but it’s not very well kept. You see, Olivia was jealous.”
“Why?”
Lily smirked ever so slightly. “Sirius has a crush.”
Maria gawked some more. “On Siena?”
Lily nodded. “That’s what I said, but then, I started to pay attention.”
Maria scoffed. “I don’t believe it. I mean seriously, and besides; since when was James a reliable source?”
Lily shrugged. “Just watch the finer details and you’ll see.”
Maria just shook her head, but then, her gaze fell on Siena again. She did look so weak and pale and…horrible.
Maria sunk into a chair across from Lily, not taking her eyes off of her unconscious friend.
The two girls lapsed into silence, lost in thought.
“Why does no one ever visit me?”
Maria jumped and turned to find Remus sitting up in the bed behind her; she hadn’t even noticed him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Remus rolled his eyes. “I came to get something for a headache yesterday, and apparently, I suddenly developed a fever and got stuck here all day.”
Maria examined him closely. He had looked a bit off for the past few days, but he looked much better now. “You didn’t look so great for the past couple of days.”
“Thanks,” Remus replied sarcastically.
“You look much better now, and you’re in a better mood, too.”
Remus shrugged. “I figured James was right.”
Maria raised an eyebrow. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Yeah, so did I, but then I thought about it, and there really is no point in me wallowing in self pity. I just gotta get over the girl.”
“You what?”
Maria looked shocked, Lily had raised an eyebrow, and James just didn’t look happy. Peter on the other hand appeared slightly amused, but Sirius was completely out of it, his eyes and thoughts focused on Siena, not taking in anything around him.
“No, I said she’ll get over it! I said to give it time!”
“Yeah, but then, I figured out that won’t ever happen, so I might as well get over it.”
“What girl are we talking about?” Maria interrupted. How stupid would she have to be? Who could find something wrong with Remus?
“None of your business,” Remus waved it off, only slightly red. “Forget it James.”
“But –“
“What on earth?” Madame Pomfrey came out of her office, eyeing the five students around the two beds. “Why was there shouting?”
“It was nothing,” Maria said quickly. “What’s happening with Siena?”
Madame Pomfrey lost her furious expression and it was replaced by a distraught one.
Everyone else immediately got worried.
“I have some good news and some bad news.”
“But the good doesn’t really make up for the bad, does it?” Lily asked quietly.
The nurse shook her head gravely.
“I did some research last night. I was able to see the extent of the damage.”
“And?” Maria prompted.
“It’s even worse than I thought.”
Lily grabbed Maria’s arm, Remus and Peter exchanged looks, James’s face hardened, and Sirius’s expression went blank in a horrible, scary way.
“I tried everything I could and I tried to find something else to help, but I can’t do anything. She’s going to have to be taken to St. Mungo's.”
There was a collective gasp around the room, followed by silence.
“Well, than, let’s get a move on!” Maria broke it. “Why are we just standing around?!”
Madame Pomfrey shook her head. “A couple minutes won’t make much of a difference, but she isn’t going to get better if we don’t take her there eventually. I talked to Dumbledore and arranged it with St. Mungo's. They’ll be here for her in a few minutes and Professor Dumbledore is writing to her family.”
There was silence. No one knew what to say. No one had expected this. It just didn’t seem to fit.
“Just because of a hit on the head?” Lily asked quietly.
“She was unlucky,” the nurse replied, shaking her head. “She just hit it at the wrong spot.”
Everyone was still and quiet.
Maria just stared a Siena. Olivia, Heidi, and Tessa may be horrible, but this was just, unbelievable. Was this really the fate Lily could have been stuck with last year?
Siena though was just so, kind and shy and quiet. Why did Olivia have to see her as a threat?
Why did Siena have to suffer for no reason? She looked so…dead now.
And to think her condition was even worse than it looked? That was just unimaginable. How could it get worse than that?
“You need to get to class,” Madame broke the silence. “Breakfast is almost over.”
“I want to stay,” Maria said immediately.
“Me too,” Lily said in a small voice. “Just until they take her?”
The nurse sighed. “Very well, but only you two.” She turned to the others with a stern look. “You boys need to go. You are discharged, Mr. Lupin.”
Remus nodded and got out of the bed.
Sirius suddenly turned and ran out.
Maria was bewildered, but James seemed to know what was going on.
“Oh no.” He let out a few swear words as he ran out after Sirius. Remus and Peter also quickly followed them out.
The girls exchanged looks, but they didn’t think about it, turning back to their unconscious friend.
~*~
“Sirius, stop! Sirius!”
He didn’t stop.
James followed him quickly, all the way to first period Transfigurations.
In the classroom, he saw that only Maria and Lily were not present.
Sirius had stopped and was glaring across the room. His sudden entrance had attracted attention of those sitting by the door and they were now confusedly following his angry expression across the room to the three present Gryffindor girls.
“Sirius, don’t do anything,” James warned.
He rounded on him with a furious expression.
“You’re just okay with this?! It doesn’t matter to you at all?!”
“Of course it matters to me!” James shouted back, neither one noticing the room getting silent. “What do you think it was like to find her just lying there?! Do you realize how scary it would be to find someone looking dead like that; forget about it being someone I know! Don’t you think I was just as angry as you when I went back and found blood on the walls?! What do you think it was like to look down and find her blood all over my hands and clothes?! You have no idea how much it matters to me! I do actually care; just because I don’t have a not so secret crush on her doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter!”
Sirius stared. “W-what?”
James scoffed. “You honestly didn’t think I knew? You never liked Potions.”
Sirius took a deep breath and let it out. “You’re right; I’m sorry. I just, I’m actually really scared.”
James nodded. “Of course you are; we don’t know what’s going to happen. It is not looking good.”
McGonagall entered just then and took in the Marauders’ distressed expressions and the rest of the class’s confused, worried, and scared looks. “What is going on?”
James started and turned to find the Professor looking at them expectantly.
“Sorry, Professor,” he apologized. Everyone seemed surprised to hear James Potter sincerely apologizing to a teacher, but James ignored it. “We just…had some things we need to get said.”
McGonagall raised an eyebrow. “Alright, take your seats. “Where are Miss Evans and Miss Goldstein?”
“They’re…in the hospital,” Remus answered quietly.
McGonagall nodded in understanding, but then frowned slightly. “I would rather they came to my class.”
“You didn’t hear, Professor?” Peter asked.
McGonagall appeared confused. “Hear what?”
“They’re taking her to St. Mungo's.”
The Professor’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” Peter nodded.
“How could it be so bad?”
James laughed dryly. “That’s what we thought. But then, I thought of last night.” James turned his gaze slowly to the back right corner of the room, looking Olivia straight in the eye. She looked terrified. “I remembered how horrible she looked and all the blood, on her, me, and the walls.” James tuned back to the professor. “It was so much worse than it looked after she’d been cleaned up. Madame Pomfrey can’t do anything.”
The door opened just then and Lily and Maria came in. Maria quietly took a piece of parchment to Professor McGonagall. “Dumbledore asked me to bring this to you.”
She took the note and unsealed it. As she read, the professor’s eyes hardened.
When she was done, McGonagall looked up and straight at the corner.
“The Headmaster would like to see you in his office.”
I may have just slightly dramatized this chapter, but I couldn’t help it. A good dose of drama never hurt anyone.
You can tell me what you think right down there where you find it very easy to write a simple little note that makes me happy and write some more.
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
James walked slowly down to the Great Hall the next morning. Lily had jumped up and ran straight to the hospital wing when she awoke and she asked James to pass the news on to Maria.
How was he supposed to tell the girl that her best friend was knocked out in the hospital wing because of her roommates? James had no idea.
He had already gone up to Dumbledore and told him about how Lily had found Olivia, Heidi, and Tessa close to where he had found Siena.
James had barely entered the Great Hall when Maria jumped up from the Gryffindor table and ran towards him.
“Where’s Lily? I can’t find Siena. She never came back last night and she hasn’t slept in her bed at all. I need t to talk to Lily!”
James held up his hand, silencing Maria.
“Lily’s in the Hospital Wing.”
“What’s she doing there?!” Maria screeched, attracting the attention of quite a few people.
“Visiting Siena,” James answered quietly.
“What’s she doing there?!”
“Being unconscious,” James answered her.
Maria blinked at him and then quickly ran off at top speed.
James stood there for a second. Olivia, Heidi, and Tessa were sitting at the Gryffindor table.
He calmed himself and then walked to the Gryffindor table, making sure to glare at Olivia and her friends on the way, before sitting down with Sirius, and Peter.
“James?” Sirius said as James played with his toast. “Maria was having a heart attack over Siena. Do you know anything?”
James nodded.
“What?”
James didn’t answer. He was still really out of it after what had happened. He didn’t know how to feel. He wasn’t exactly friends with Siena, but he was still furious at Olivia. Her stupid jealousy had made a big mess of everything. Lily had completely broken down and Maria didn’t seem to be taking it well; her blank expression had scared James.
Sirius wasn’t going to take this well either. It was actually quite obvious that he had it bad for Siena. Even now, Sirius looked so worried and concerned.
“James?”
He looked up at Sirius and answered him.
“She’s in the hospital wing because Olivia and her lot went and shot her straight into a wall.”
Sirius looked back at him without saying a word.
James observed him, waiting to see what he would do next.
“Sirius, do you want to go see her?”
Sirius snapped out of whatever reverie he was in and shot up. James and Peter got up too and followed him up to the hospital wing.
~*~
“Lily, what happened?” Maria asked as she burst into the hospital wing.
Lily looked up at her with blank eyes before looking back down at Siena’s unconscious form.
“James found her and brought her here,” Lily replied. “It was Olivia and the others; I found them in the corridors during patrols.”
Maria gaped. “But why?”
“Well,” Lily said, “it’s supposed to be a secret, but it’s not very well kept. You see, Olivia was jealous.”
“Why?”
Lily smirked ever so slightly. “Sirius has a crush.”
Maria gawked some more. “On Siena?”
Lily nodded. “That’s what I said, but then, I started to pay attention.”
Maria scoffed. “I don’t believe it. I mean seriously, and besides; since when was James a reliable source?”
Lily shrugged. “Just watch the finer details and you’ll see.”
Maria just shook her head, but then, her gaze fell on Siena again. She did look so weak and pale and…horrible.
Maria sunk into a chair across from Lily, not taking her eyes off of her unconscious friend.
The two girls lapsed into silence, lost in thought.
“Why does no one ever visit me?”
Maria jumped and turned to find Remus sitting up in the bed behind her; she hadn’t even noticed him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Remus rolled his eyes. “I came to get something for a headache yesterday, and apparently, I suddenly developed a fever and got stuck here all day.”
Maria examined him closely. He had looked a bit off for the past few days, but he looked much better now. “You didn’t look so great for the past couple of days.”
“Thanks,” Remus replied sarcastically.
“You look much better now, and you’re in a better mood, too.”
Remus shrugged. “I figured James was right.”
Maria raised an eyebrow. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Yeah, so did I, but then I thought about it, and there really is no point in me wallowing in self pity. I just gotta get over the girl.”
“You what?”
Maria looked shocked, Lily had raised an eyebrow, and James just didn’t look happy. Peter on the other hand appeared slightly amused, but Sirius was completely out of it, his eyes and thoughts focused on Siena, not taking in anything around him.
“No, I said she’ll get over it! I said to give it time!”
“Yeah, but then, I figured out that won’t ever happen, so I might as well get over it.”
“What girl are we talking about?” Maria interrupted. How stupid would she have to be? Who could find something wrong with Remus?
“None of your business,” Remus waved it off, only slightly red. “Forget it James.”
“But –“
“What on earth?” Madame Pomfrey came out of her office, eyeing the five students around the two beds. “Why was there shouting?”
“It was nothing,” Maria said quickly. “What’s happening with Siena?”
Madame Pomfrey lost her furious expression and it was replaced by a distraught one.
Everyone else immediately got worried.
“I have some good news and some bad news.”
“But the good doesn’t really make up for the bad, does it?” Lily asked quietly.
The nurse shook her head gravely.
“I did some research last night. I was able to see the extent of the damage.”
“And?” Maria prompted.
“It’s even worse than I thought.”
Lily grabbed Maria’s arm, Remus and Peter exchanged looks, James’s face hardened, and Sirius’s expression went blank in a horrible, scary way.
“I tried everything I could and I tried to find something else to help, but I can’t do anything. She’s going to have to be taken to St. Mungo's.”
There was a collective gasp around the room, followed by silence.
“Well, than, let’s get a move on!” Maria broke it. “Why are we just standing around?!”
Madame Pomfrey shook her head. “A couple minutes won’t make much of a difference, but she isn’t going to get better if we don’t take her there eventually. I talked to Dumbledore and arranged it with St. Mungo's. They’ll be here for her in a few minutes and Professor Dumbledore is writing to her family.”
There was silence. No one knew what to say. No one had expected this. It just didn’t seem to fit.
“Just because of a hit on the head?” Lily asked quietly.
“She was unlucky,” the nurse replied, shaking her head. “She just hit it at the wrong spot.”
Everyone was still and quiet.
Maria just stared a Siena. Olivia, Heidi, and Tessa may be horrible, but this was just, unbelievable. Was this really the fate Lily could have been stuck with last year?
Siena though was just so, kind and shy and quiet. Why did Olivia have to see her as a threat?
Why did Siena have to suffer for no reason? She looked so…dead now.
And to think her condition was even worse than it looked? That was just unimaginable. How could it get worse than that?
“You need to get to class,” Madame broke the silence. “Breakfast is almost over.”
“I want to stay,” Maria said immediately.
“Me too,” Lily said in a small voice. “Just until they take her?”
The nurse sighed. “Very well, but only you two.” She turned to the others with a stern look. “You boys need to go. You are discharged, Mr. Lupin.”
Remus nodded and got out of the bed.
Sirius suddenly turned and ran out.
Maria was bewildered, but James seemed to know what was going on.
“Oh no.” He let out a few swear words as he ran out after Sirius. Remus and Peter also quickly followed them out.
The girls exchanged looks, but they didn’t think about it, turning back to their unconscious friend.
~*~
“Sirius, stop! Sirius!”
He didn’t stop.
James followed him quickly, all the way to first period Transfigurations.
In the classroom, he saw that only Maria and Lily were not present.
Sirius had stopped and was glaring across the room. His sudden entrance had attracted attention of those sitting by the door and they were now confusedly following his angry expression across the room to the three present Gryffindor girls.
“Sirius, don’t do anything,” James warned.
He rounded on him with a furious expression.
“You’re just okay with this?! It doesn’t matter to you at all?!”
“Of course it matters to me!” James shouted back, neither one noticing the room getting silent. “What do you think it was like to find her just lying there?! Do you realize how scary it would be to find someone looking dead like that; forget about it being someone I know! Don’t you think I was just as angry as you when I went back and found blood on the walls?! What do you think it was like to look down and find her blood all over my hands and clothes?! You have no idea how much it matters to me! I do actually care; just because I don’t have a not so secret crush on her doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter!”
Sirius stared. “W-what?”
James scoffed. “You honestly didn’t think I knew? You never liked Potions.”
Sirius took a deep breath and let it out. “You’re right; I’m sorry. I just, I’m actually really scared.”
James nodded. “Of course you are; we don’t know what’s going to happen. It is not looking good.”
McGonagall entered just then and took in the Marauders’ distressed expressions and the rest of the class’s confused, worried, and scared looks. “What is going on?”
James started and turned to find the Professor looking at them expectantly.
“Sorry, Professor,” he apologized. Everyone seemed surprised to hear James Potter sincerely apologizing to a teacher, but James ignored it. “We just…had some things we need to get said.”
McGonagall raised an eyebrow. “Alright, take your seats. “Where are Miss Evans and Miss Goldstein?”
“They’re…in the hospital,” Remus answered quietly.
McGonagall nodded in understanding, but then frowned slightly. “I would rather they came to my class.”
“You didn’t hear, Professor?” Peter asked.
McGonagall appeared confused. “Hear what?”
“They’re taking her to St. Mungo's.”
The Professor’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” Peter nodded.
“How could it be so bad?”
James laughed dryly. “That’s what we thought. But then, I thought of last night.” James turned his gaze slowly to the back right corner of the room, looking Olivia straight in the eye. She looked terrified. “I remembered how horrible she looked and all the blood, on her, me, and the walls.” James tuned back to the professor. “It was so much worse than it looked after she’d been cleaned up. Madame Pomfrey can’t do anything.”
The door opened just then and Lily and Maria came in. Maria quietly took a piece of parchment to Professor McGonagall. “Dumbledore asked me to bring this to you.”
She took the note and unsealed it. As she read, the professor’s eyes hardened.
When she was done, McGonagall looked up and straight at the corner.
“The Headmaster would like to see you in his office.”
I may have just slightly dramatized this chapter, but I couldn’t help it. A good dose of drama never hurt anyone.
You can tell me what you think right down there where you find it very easy to write a simple little note that makes me happy and write some more.
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
Chapter 10: Slughorn’s Plot
Hogwarts was a buzz of excitement.
Apparently, students became excited after hearing about near death experience happening in the castle; ironic, huh?
The half of Gryffindor that actually knew who Siena was had the decency to approach Lily and Maria and at least ask how she was. The rest of the school was on a mission to figure out who this mystery girl that Sirius Black so obviously had fallen for was.
All the Ravenclaw seventh years practically ran out of the class room after Transfigurations to spread the news, and everyone knew what had gone down by lunch time.
Now, most of the school was giving Olivia, Heidi, and Tessa evil looks, except for the Slytherins who were overjoyed that someone had almost killed a “Bloodtraitor.”
Maria and Sirius had nearly lost it when they found out that the three girls were only suspended for a month and had detention every night afterwards with McGonagall. Apparently, Tessa’s parents had connections in the board of education, and, after Olivia’s drama scene about how “I swear I never meant to hurt her! It was an accident! I didn’t even realize! Siena’s my roommate! I would never try to purposefully hurt a friend!” and Heidi’s parents’ “generous donation,” the three girls had gotten off without being chucked into Azkaban as Maria had hoped.
They were supposed to be leaving that very night, and the whole of Gryffindor house was packed into the common room, waiting to stare at them come down and walk out the portrait hole.
Maria was glaring at everything from her chair while Lily, sitting next to her, was staring off into the fireplace lost in thought.
Sirius was in a similar state, ignoring all the people staring at him; everyone had trouble believing that Sirius Black had crush.
James was muttering under his breath about maybe feeding Olivia, Heidi, and Tessa to the Giant Squid before they could leave.
Remus had collected Maria’s, Sirius’s, and James’s wands, not trusting them to not hex the girls. He now had them safely in his bag which was behind his back while he sat with a book in front of him, though he was clearly not taking anything in, having been staring at the same page the whole time.
Peter was bouncing slightly in his chair, looking anxiously around at everybody.
Though there were more people in the common room than normal, it was unnaturally quiet, apart from the soft buzz of gossip and hiss of whispers.
A wave of hush settling across the common room signaled the arrival the infamous Gryffindors at the bottom of the staircase.
Their smug expressions became nervous as they saw the looks on their fellow Gryffindors’ faces as they all stared at them in silence.
They were indeed very lucky Remus had taken the wands, for the looks on Maria’s, Sirius’s, and James’s faces looked ready to kill.
The three girls quickly went for the portrait hole, silent Gryffindors shuffling out of the way to create a wide path towards the exit.
Tessa hastily pushed the portrait open, climbing out, dragging her trunk behind her. Heidi followed just as hurriedly with her own trunk.
Olivia turned to give the still common room one last look, before abruptly following her friends out.
As the portrait swung closed, the common room filled with sound as if a Silencing Charm had been lifted.
“I can’t believe they’re coming back!” Maria exclaimed.
James nodded in agreement. “I’d love to hex them into oblivion and then bring them back just to do it again.”
Lily didn’t say anything. Siena was in St. Mungos and Sirius Black wasn’t smirking and pranking people and Maria was having a civil conversation with James Potter.
Things were not right.
“Or Lily could make a Death of Living Draught and we can put it in their drinks!” James said excitedly.
“After I charm their makeup to make them look worse than usual,” Maria said matter-of-factly.
James nodded. “And we can…”
Or whatever the term “civil” meant.
Nevertheless, things were looking to be out of the ordinary.
“You alright?”
Lily jumped and turned to find Sirius watching her.
“Oh, yeah, yeah I’m fine,” Lily replied quickly. “I was just thinking.”
Sirius nodded. “Things are changing.”
Lily looked up at him curiously.
In her head, it just didn’t add up how she had ended up here in the first place.
Siena had been attacked, so now, she, Maria, and the Marauders were sitting around the fireplace, but it made no sense. Why did they care?
She wouldn’t be there being civil to them if it weren’t for what happened to Siena, but how did it happen in the first place?
Under normal circumstances, the reason for which Siena had been attacked would have been preposterous. But now?
“You do too much of that,” Sirius smiled.
“What?” Lily asked, snapping out of her thoughts, again.
“Thinking,” Sirius replied. “You do too much of it. Relax just a bit. Everything doesn’t have to be perfectly logical and in order and…rule following.”
Lily blinked at him.
If he’d said that last year, Lily would have hexed him into next week.
“Lily…”
“Huh?”
“What did I just say?’ Sirius asked with his arms crossed.
“Uh, I think too much and I should stop?”
Sirius nodded. “And what were you just doing?”
“Thinking,” Lily replied sheepishly.
“Don’t worry,” Sirius laughed. “You’ll get used to it. It’s actually quite easy.”
“Because you’ve never made the actual transition, right Black?” Lily asked with a smile.
Sirius shrugged. “One thing that I do, sadly, have in common with my family.”
“Lily?”
“Yeah?” she turned to Maria. She and James seemed to be done with planning threats.
“Do you mind staying in the dorm with me?” she asked, “Just until Siena’s back?”
Lily nodded. “Of course. Let me just get something, okay?”
Maria nodded.
“I’ll come with you,” James jumped up. “If you’re staying here, then I’m not staying the Heads’ Dorms alone.”
“Are you scared?” Lily teased him.
“No!” James cried indignantly. “It’s just boring to be alone is all.”
“Whatever,” Lily turned away from him. “You’ll be fine until I’m back?” she asked Maria.
“Don’t worry, Evans,” Sirius smirked. “We’re here.”
“I’d rather you weren’t,” Maria glared at him.
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
Maria grabbed a pillow out from under Remus’s book and threw it at Sirius’s head.
“Hey!”
Maria ignored both glaring boys and waved to Lily and James. “Hurry back!”
Siena had been gone for three days. For some odd, unexplainable reason, Lily and Maria suddenly found themselves in Marauder company, voluntarily.
That was just not right.
Lily still couldn’t believe what was happening around her. None of it made sense. She found that she could laugh with Sirius, enjoy James’s company, and not be compelled to tell the boys off when they snuck out for food one night.
Not that the boys were acting the same. James was still furious that anybody had tried to hurt somebody else for such a juvenile reason while Sirius just seemed oddly unhappy. Sure, once they’d been told that Siena was going to be okay apart from still being unconscious, everyone had relaxed, but it still wasn’t the same. Lily found herself still worrying, and it didn’t help that Sirius was worried because when Sirius Black got worried, it was time to worry.
James kept saying that he was unnecessarily worrying because of how he felt about Siena and it was only “natural” but Lily found that hard to believe, probably because it was Sirius.
“You have patrols in 15 minutes, Lily.”
She jumped and turned away from the window and to Remus sitting across from her. They’d been working on homework together in the library because Maria was in detention for hexing a Slytherins that said he was glad Siena was dying, James was reading and, Sirius was doing something locked in his dormitory, though Lily didn’t know what, while Peter watched them both from what she knew.
Lily nodded and looked down at her blank parchment and frowned.
“You know, Sirius’s advice isn’t always the best.”
“What?” Lily jerked her head back up to Remus who was smiling at her.
“Stop thinking? This is what you get for it,” he laughed, motioning to the blank parchment.
“I was actually thinking about something else,” Lily crossed her arms.
“Like what?” Remus asked.
Lily shrugged. “I’m trying to figure out what’s gone wrong with the world.”
Remus raised an eyebrow at her. “Any progress?”
Lily sighed and started gathering her things. “I think it’s Slughorn’s fault.”
“What’d he do?”
“He made Sirius and Siena Potions partners which is why they talked and Olivia found out Sirius likes her and attacked her which is what led to your friends stopping their idiotic ways which is why I can now stand their company, all because of Slughorn.”
Remus only looked at her.
“What?”
Remus only shook his head. “You didn’t think that maybe, Slughorn is plotting to make us all friends and use us to take over the school?”
“How is he going to take over the school using us?”
“Marauders,” he pointed to himself, “and the most popular girls in the school,” he pointed to Lily. “If he can make us unite forces, then everyone will listen to us, and then he can tell us what to tell the student body to do and they’ll do it and then he’ll have taken over the school.”
Lily looked at him skeptically.
“You know it’s true,” he said, leading her out the library.
“Slughorn’s trying to take over the school,” Lily announced, walking into the boys’ dormitory with Remus.
Sirius jumped and shoved something under his covers while James looked up at her with raised eyebrows.
“What?”
“It’s true,” Remus nodded, dumping his bag on his bed.
“What’s that?” Lily pointed to the big this sticking up under Sirius’s blanket.
“Nothing,” he said quickly.
Lily walked over and reached out to pull the covers back, but Sirius stopped her, quickly vanishing the item.
“It’s nothing,” he repeated.
“It looks like a guitar,” Lily said.
“Why would I have a guitar?” Sirius laughed, very fake.
Lily only raised looked at him.
“What were you saying about Slughorn?”
“Oh yeah, Remus’ll fill you in,” Lily said before turning to James. “We have to get to patrols.”
He nodded and marked his place in his book before putting it on his bedside table, picking up his wand and shoving it in his pocket as he got off his bed.
“Let’s go,” he lead Lily back out.
“So, Slughorn?”
“Oh, yeah; Remus said that he’s using us to take over the school.”
James looked at her for a moment until she turned to him and blushed.
“What?”
James shrugged. “You’re in a much better mood than since…the incident.”
Lily smiled. “McGonagall said that Siena was all healed and they were just waiting for her to wake up now,” she told him happily. “We’re allowed to visit tomorrow and she should be back within a week.”
James stopped dead.
“What?”
“Since when?!”
“This afternoon,” Lily replied slowly.
“How come we didn’t know about it?!” James exclaimed.
Lily sighed. “What would have been Sirius’s reaction?”
“’Can we go see her now?’” James said with a sigh.
Lily nodded. “And when was the last time you weren’t with Sirius today?”
“Free period before lunch.”
Lily nodded again and continued walking with James next to her again.
“So, when are we going tomorrow?” James asked after a moment’s silence.
Lily shrugged. “It’s Saturday so we can go whenever we want.”
“After breakfast?” James suggested.
Lily nodded slowly. “Sounds good to me. Mary and I’ll meet you guys in the Entrance Hall at 10:00?”
James nodded. “It has never been as easy to get Sirius out of bed as it will be tomorrow morning.”
Lily laughed. “He’s not a morning person?”
“Hardly,” James nodded. “He’s nocturnal.”
Lily laughed, but soon, the pair lapsed into silence.
It was an oddly calm night. They had yet to find a student out of bed or anything unusual for that matter. Considering it was a Friday night, this was even more unusual.
Lily didn’t mind the quiet. It gave her time to think. She was still trying to make sense of the drastic changes happening around her. It still didn’t add up.
How could this have happened?
“You know, Padfoot was right.”
‘What?’ Lily jerked her head towards James who was smiling slightly at her.
“You do think too much,” James replied.
“Well excuse me for doing something with my brain once in a while,” Lily huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.
“I never said there was anything wrong with thinking,” James defended. “I even do it once in a while, but it’s a lot easier to go with the flow. It might seem more logical if you don’t over think it too.”
Lily sighed. “I can’t help it. Everything’s just so screwed up.”
“How so?” James asked.
“Maria is not supposed to not have boyfriend, Siena isn’t supposed to have the capability to get on anyone’s bad side, Remus isn’t supposed to be mad at anyone, you’re not supposed to be not annoying, Sirius is not supposed to be growing up, and neither are you, he’s not supposed to actually fall for someone, Siena isn’t supposed to be able to talk to anyone other than me and Mary, I’m not supposed to be able to stand you, and this all just is not supposed to be happening!”
James blinked at her and then shook his head. “Just go with the flow.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Do you want it to go back to the way it was where I bugged you and you had to worry about Maria being out with a guy and Siena was just trapped inside of herself?”
Lily looked at him. When did he get so smart?
“Didn’t think so,” James nodded. “So why does it matter why it’s happening?”
Lily shrugged.
James nodded. “Good answer.”
“I still can’t believe it,” Lily sighed.
“That makes it all the more real.”
Please don’t hate me for disappearing and leave me some feedback, please!!!
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Chapter 11: Surprisingly Right
“Wake up, Padfoot!”
“No!”
“Come on!”
“Go away!”
“We have to get to the Entrance Hall in 15 minutes!”
“I don’t want to!”
“Fine than,” James crossed his arms. “We’ll just tell Siena you were sleeping if she wakes up while we’re there.”
Silence.
“Wait, what?!” Sirius sat up in bed and looked around wildly at James.
“We’re meeting the girls in the Entrance Hall at 10:00 to go visit Siena in St. Mungo's,” James told him.
“How come I didn’t know?!” Sirius jumped out of bed and started digging around for clean clothes.
“He only told us half-an-hour ago when he woke us up,” Remus informed him.
James shrugged. “Lily only told me last night.”
“You could have told me then!”
“Oh yes,” James rolled his eyes. “I was going to come all the way up here after our patrols, wake you up, tell you we were going to St. Mungo’s today, and then walk all the way back to my dorm.”
“Then why didn’t you!?”
James, Remus, and Peter exchanged looks.
They’d known Sirius for a long time. And in that long time, they had all become the best of friends. And that’s how they knew that things were changing; he was changing.
“What?” Sirius asked, catching the looks.
“It’s just…” Remus started out, “…I guess it’s finally time for ‘I told you so.’”
“What did you tell me so?” Sirius asked.
“That you’d grow up eventually,” Remus replied. “That a time would come when you would finally stop acting like a kid and mature….And that, eventually, you’d find a girl you actually like, and your days of exploring broom closets would be over.”
Sirius looked at him. It was true; he had said that. And they had all laughed about it; though somewhere, in the back of his mind, he’d been thinking of Siena.
“What is it that you like about her?” Peter asked. “I mean, and since forever too, according to James.”
Sirius looked at him thoughtfully. What was it?
“I guess…it’s the same reason James won’t leave Evans alone; whoever said opposites attract was a genius.”
Peter shook his head. “I never got that.”
“Well, think about it,” Remus said, “if the person is too much like you, than it’s boring. There’s nothing really new and exciting; it’s just a different version of you. with someone different, there’s always something different and unexpected.”
Peter looked at him. “You are the smart one.”
“I think it makes sense,” James said. “I like Lily because she’s always so amusing with all the uptight rule following thing. And she’s sweet and not so loud and annoying, but then not boring either; despite all the homework, she manages to have a good time.”
“Whereas despite all the good times, you manage to get your homework done,” Remus said.
James looked at him and shrugged. “Can’t argue with that.”
“But you started liking her after she yelled at you,” Peter said.
“Well, if we’re total opposites, then it would just not work out. Besides, if she was going to chicken out and let me be mean to her friend, then I wasn’t exactly going to have any reason to like her, was I?” James asked.
“It was Snivellus!”
James gave a disgusted face. “Still don’t understand what she could have possibly seen in him, but nonetheless, they were friends. It’s sorta like me and you, Pete.”
Peter nodded. “That makes – hey, wait a minute!”
James laughed. “You know I was just playing.”
Peter huffed. “Yeah, yeah. But then when did you start liking Siena, Sirius?”
Sirius shrugged. “Accidently knocked her over way back in first year. At first, I, like Prongsy over here, decided to be all ‘cool’ and I asked her out; didn’t work so well. She barely got a word out before running away.”
“Okay…” Peter said slowly. “Still don’t get it.”
“Well,” Sirius said, “I wanted to know how on earth she could possibly say no to me, so I tried to figure it out. that’s when I realized that she was way too shy for her own good. I tried talking to her a few times; it didn’t go so well, but I figured out that when she talked to Lily and Tessa, she was actually a great person, so I had to try and get her to talk to me. I don’t know when I started liking her.”
The other three just looked at him.
Remus finally slowly shook his head. “told you so.”
“What?” Sirius asked.
“We should go,” James ignored him. We have 5 minutes to get to the Entrance Hall.”
~*~
“Took you long enough,” Lily said tapping her foot impatiently.
James shrugged. “We were having a deep conversation and lost track of time.”
Maria snorted. “You? Deep? Yeah right!”
James crossed his arms. “We can be –“
“Sure, sure,” Lily cut him off. “We going or not?”
“Let’s go,” Sirius said quickly, starting to speed walk to Dumbledore’s office.
“I still can’t believe I was right,” Remus shook his head as the others exchanged amused looks and took off after him.
“What were you right about?” Maria asked.
“Sirius being serious for once in his life,” Remus replied. “I said it would happen so long ago, but I never actually believed it.”
James nodded in agreement. “It’s just getting closer to that time when pigs start to fly and Slytherins start acting nice.”
“Slytherin thing not happening,” Maria said.
James shrugged. “Probably not, but there’s still the pigs.”
“Come on!” Sirius shouted down the corridor impatiently.
Lily rolled her eyes. “Let’s go.”
And they sped up and caught up with him, shaking their heads at what they knew was a completely different, and yet exactly the same Sirius Black.
~*~
The next couple of days, the Gryffindors were given permission to visit Siena after classes until they were kicked out, and they did just that. And then they went back to Hogwarts and sat around doing homework in the Heads’ Dorms until they fell asleep in the common room.
And then they’d get up, get dressed, eat and go to classes and repeat the cycle, which was making them all kind of anxious. Siena had yet to wake up.
And Slughorn had assigned the big project they were supposed to be doing that Monday in class.
Sirius sat, at the empty table, waiting for Slughorn to speak.
“Alright!” he said joyfully. “Your project with your partner will be due on your last class before the Holiday breaks, so you have a little over a month which should be plenty of time. It is a simple enough assignment. You will be researching a potion, and then brewing it for me. Anything legal,” he eyed the Slytherins, “will be acceptable. Points will be awarded based on difficulty and creativity, so get searching! Be sure to bring me the name of your potion so that I can approve it, and be quick about it! I won’t be letting more than one pair do the same potion. You have any time outside of class to work on your potion, but we will be moving along in here.
“Now today, you will be brewing…”
Sirius tuned him out. this class was getting to be quiet boring without Siena to talk to.
~*~
It was on the way up to Dumbledore’s office to floo to St. Mungo's after dinner that McGonagall approached them.
“Hello Professor,” Lily smiled.
“I thought I would let you know before you went up that Miss Vertenella awoke about an hour ago, so –“
She was cut off as the Gryffindors ran passed her before she could get out another word.
So, you should definitely hate me for the patheticness of this chapter.
Maybe feedback is too much to ask?
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
Hopefully not?
“Wake up, Padfoot!”
“No!”
“Come on!”
“Go away!”
“We have to get to the Entrance Hall in 15 minutes!”
“I don’t want to!”
“Fine than,” James crossed his arms. “We’ll just tell Siena you were sleeping if she wakes up while we’re there.”
Silence.
“Wait, what?!” Sirius sat up in bed and looked around wildly at James.
“We’re meeting the girls in the Entrance Hall at 10:00 to go visit Siena in St. Mungo's,” James told him.
“How come I didn’t know?!” Sirius jumped out of bed and started digging around for clean clothes.
“He only told us half-an-hour ago when he woke us up,” Remus informed him.
James shrugged. “Lily only told me last night.”
“You could have told me then!”
“Oh yes,” James rolled his eyes. “I was going to come all the way up here after our patrols, wake you up, tell you we were going to St. Mungo’s today, and then walk all the way back to my dorm.”
“Then why didn’t you!?”
James, Remus, and Peter exchanged looks.
They’d known Sirius for a long time. And in that long time, they had all become the best of friends. And that’s how they knew that things were changing; he was changing.
“What?” Sirius asked, catching the looks.
“It’s just…” Remus started out, “…I guess it’s finally time for ‘I told you so.’”
“What did you tell me so?” Sirius asked.
“That you’d grow up eventually,” Remus replied. “That a time would come when you would finally stop acting like a kid and mature….And that, eventually, you’d find a girl you actually like, and your days of exploring broom closets would be over.”
Sirius looked at him. It was true; he had said that. And they had all laughed about it; though somewhere, in the back of his mind, he’d been thinking of Siena.
“What is it that you like about her?” Peter asked. “I mean, and since forever too, according to James.”
Sirius looked at him thoughtfully. What was it?
“I guess…it’s the same reason James won’t leave Evans alone; whoever said opposites attract was a genius.”
Peter shook his head. “I never got that.”
“Well, think about it,” Remus said, “if the person is too much like you, than it’s boring. There’s nothing really new and exciting; it’s just a different version of you. with someone different, there’s always something different and unexpected.”
Peter looked at him. “You are the smart one.”
“I think it makes sense,” James said. “I like Lily because she’s always so amusing with all the uptight rule following thing. And she’s sweet and not so loud and annoying, but then not boring either; despite all the homework, she manages to have a good time.”
“Whereas despite all the good times, you manage to get your homework done,” Remus said.
James looked at him and shrugged. “Can’t argue with that.”
“But you started liking her after she yelled at you,” Peter said.
“Well, if we’re total opposites, then it would just not work out. Besides, if she was going to chicken out and let me be mean to her friend, then I wasn’t exactly going to have any reason to like her, was I?” James asked.
“It was Snivellus!”
James gave a disgusted face. “Still don’t understand what she could have possibly seen in him, but nonetheless, they were friends. It’s sorta like me and you, Pete.”
Peter nodded. “That makes – hey, wait a minute!”
James laughed. “You know I was just playing.”
Peter huffed. “Yeah, yeah. But then when did you start liking Siena, Sirius?”
Sirius shrugged. “Accidently knocked her over way back in first year. At first, I, like Prongsy over here, decided to be all ‘cool’ and I asked her out; didn’t work so well. She barely got a word out before running away.”
“Okay…” Peter said slowly. “Still don’t get it.”
“Well,” Sirius said, “I wanted to know how on earth she could possibly say no to me, so I tried to figure it out. that’s when I realized that she was way too shy for her own good. I tried talking to her a few times; it didn’t go so well, but I figured out that when she talked to Lily and Tessa, she was actually a great person, so I had to try and get her to talk to me. I don’t know when I started liking her.”
The other three just looked at him.
Remus finally slowly shook his head. “told you so.”
“What?” Sirius asked.
“We should go,” James ignored him. We have 5 minutes to get to the Entrance Hall.”
~*~
“Took you long enough,” Lily said tapping her foot impatiently.
James shrugged. “We were having a deep conversation and lost track of time.”
Maria snorted. “You? Deep? Yeah right!”
James crossed his arms. “We can be –“
“Sure, sure,” Lily cut him off. “We going or not?”
“Let’s go,” Sirius said quickly, starting to speed walk to Dumbledore’s office.
“I still can’t believe I was right,” Remus shook his head as the others exchanged amused looks and took off after him.
“What were you right about?” Maria asked.
“Sirius being serious for once in his life,” Remus replied. “I said it would happen so long ago, but I never actually believed it.”
James nodded in agreement. “It’s just getting closer to that time when pigs start to fly and Slytherins start acting nice.”
“Slytherin thing not happening,” Maria said.
James shrugged. “Probably not, but there’s still the pigs.”
“Come on!” Sirius shouted down the corridor impatiently.
Lily rolled her eyes. “Let’s go.”
And they sped up and caught up with him, shaking their heads at what they knew was a completely different, and yet exactly the same Sirius Black.
~*~
The next couple of days, the Gryffindors were given permission to visit Siena after classes until they were kicked out, and they did just that. And then they went back to Hogwarts and sat around doing homework in the Heads’ Dorms until they fell asleep in the common room.
And then they’d get up, get dressed, eat and go to classes and repeat the cycle, which was making them all kind of anxious. Siena had yet to wake up.
And Slughorn had assigned the big project they were supposed to be doing that Monday in class.
Sirius sat, at the empty table, waiting for Slughorn to speak.
“Alright!” he said joyfully. “Your project with your partner will be due on your last class before the Holiday breaks, so you have a little over a month which should be plenty of time. It is a simple enough assignment. You will be researching a potion, and then brewing it for me. Anything legal,” he eyed the Slytherins, “will be acceptable. Points will be awarded based on difficulty and creativity, so get searching! Be sure to bring me the name of your potion so that I can approve it, and be quick about it! I won’t be letting more than one pair do the same potion. You have any time outside of class to work on your potion, but we will be moving along in here.
“Now today, you will be brewing…”
Sirius tuned him out. this class was getting to be quiet boring without Siena to talk to.
~*~
It was on the way up to Dumbledore’s office to floo to St. Mungo's after dinner that McGonagall approached them.
“Hello Professor,” Lily smiled.
“I thought I would let you know before you went up that Miss Vertenella awoke about an hour ago, so –“
She was cut off as the Gryffindors ran passed her before she could get out another word.
So, you should definitely hate me for the patheticness of this chapter.
Maybe feedback is too much to ask?
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
Hopefully not?
Chapter 12: Almost Normal
Siena was completely out of it. The healers had told her what had happened and now she was having a freak attack.
So much had happen this year and she hadn’t even realized it. It had almost seemed natural, like every other year, but it was different, it turned out. It had been a little over two months so far in this year, and in that time, Siena had managed conversation with someone other than Maria and Lily, made enemies, and just maybe kinda sorta, not really, but a little developed a not really there crush. But that part didn’t matter, so moving on.
She was still just as confused as she had been when she had been attacked of why they would bother. Heidi, Olivia, and Tessa were odd people. Why would they be so mad at her for being Sirius’s potions partner. Slughorn had assigned the pairs.
Maybe they had found out that she sort of just barely – no, wait, that part didn’t matter.
Lily and Maria had been looking at her funny lately, too. Whenever she talked nowadays, they’d just exchange these…looks that made her slightly uncomfortable. That’s what made it so hard to actually talk to them; it was weird, as if they were talking about her or something.
Sirius on the other hand just did all the talking and just smiled if she said anything. That was slightly uncomfortable as well. There honestly had to be something wrong with Sirius. No one could be that happy.
Siena sighed looking around at the clock. The healers had also said that her friends were coming to see her after classes everyday, which meant they would be here in a few minutes.
But there was only so much Lily and Maria could do in a hospital. Lily would just do homework while Maria lazed around, just like they did back in the common room. Would. But the healer in charge of her had told Siena that they were kind of loud. She had laughed about it while Siena sat and looked confused.
Lily and Maria weren’t loud people. Well, Maria was. Knowing them, they probably just argued super loudly about homework a lot.
Siena rolled her eyes. They got along absolutely perfect, unless there was homework involved. They fought about that way too much. Siena tried to stop them once, but then they just looked at each other, so Siena left. But at least they stopped.
“But this is so much more important!” Maria’s voice was heard coming down the hall.
“But they have responsibilities, Maria,” Lily argued.
“So? They can be put off.”
“They’re responsibilities!” Lily exclaimed, “not entertainment.”
“Technically – “
“Not the point, Maria!”
Siena sighed. Homework actually fell under the category of responsibility. The more broader category was actually their basis of argument.
“You don’t even like Quidditch!”
Quidditch?
Why on earth were they arguing about Quidditch?
“Your point?” Lily asked.
“Why do you care if the Gryffindor team practices!” Maria exclaimed.
“Because it’s their respo –“
“You’re the one who says they practice too much, remember? ‘Potter’s such an idiot! All he cares about’s stupid Quidditch! He’s always over working the team! Not that he really cares about them! He’s such an idiot!’”
“Hey!”
Wait a minute. That sounded like James Potter. What was he doing here?
“I’m not that b –“
“I didn’t mean for them to ditch it all together!” Lily cried. “Going to practice, and actually scheduling practice, is their responsibility. They can’t just skip it for no reason.”
“If we had practice every night, then when are we supposed to come here?” James’s voice asked.
“No one said you had to come here.”
“But we wanted to,” James said.
“But your responsibilities come before what you w –“
“Evans!” Sirius’s voice flowed through the door.
Siena stiffened.
“What, Sirius?” Lily sighed exasperatedly.
“Can we get a move on?” he whined. “I didn’t come here to listen to you to go at it. I get enough of that at Hogwarts, thanks.”
What had she missed?
“Oh yes, that’s right,” Siena heard the smirk in Lily’s voice. “Wittle Sirius is all impatient to –“
“Shut it, Evans!”
Siena was still frozen when the door was pushed open, revealing, not only Lily and Maria, but the Marauders as well.
“You’re awake!” James exclaimed.
“Duh, Potter,” Maria rolled her eyes. “That’s what McGonagall said.”
“How are you?” Lily asked, giving Siena a hug.
“G-good,” she managed to get out, hugging her back.
“Guess what?” Maria asked excitedly, attacking Siena in a hug.
“What?”
“Somebody has been kicked out of school!”
“Who?”
“Who do you think?” Maria asked.
“Oh,” Siena mumbled.
“But they’ll be back,” Remus added bitterly.
Siena didn’t reply. Why were they here again?
“And Slughorn gave us our assignment,” Sirius said with a, of course, giant smile.
That made sense. He came to tell her about the project and his friends decided to tag along to get out of school. “What are we doing?” Siena asked.
“It’s pretty straight forward, actually. We have to brew a potion. The harder it is, the better it is for our grade.”
“Great,” Siena said. “When do we start?”
“As soon as you get out of here,” Sirius replied. “We get to be holed up in the library doing research forever.”
“Yay!” Siena exclaimed sarcastically.
“And it gets better,” Sirius said excitedly.
“Oh?” Siena raised a questioning eyebrow.
“After doing research, we get to lock ourselves in a classroom to make the potion!”
“Wonderful,” Siena cracked a smile.
“You know you’re excited,” Sirius sat back in a chair.
“Why would that be?”
“You get to spend a full month with me!”
Siena laughed. “I love how you’ve deluded yourself into thinking people actually enjoy your company.”
“Hey!”
Siena rolled her eyes and turned away. “So, what else have I missed?” she asked Maria and Lily.
They gave each other looks. Why did they always do that!
“Well, if I’m being ignored, I’m leaving,” Sirius stood and left.
There was a moment’s silence.
“I’m going with him,” James stood as well.
A second later, the room was Marauder free.
“Are you sure you’re head isn’t damaged?” Maria asked.
“Um, yeah, I think,” Siena said confusedly, “Why?”
“’cause Siena’s missing.”
“Okay…”
“What she means,” Lily sighed, “is that you seem to be better at talking to Sirius Black then us nowadays and we want to know what’s up.”
“W-what are you talking about?” Siena asked, not fully comprehending.
Maria shrugged. “You seem different.”
“How so?”
“You talk more, and to other people, you actually say what you think, and I know that was just total flirting right there,” Maria smirked.
“W-where?”
“With Sirius!” Maria exclaimed.
Siena’s eyes widened. “N-no!”
“Yeah!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Siena stated.
“Sure…” Maria wiggled her eyebrows as the door opened again.
“We come baring food!” James exclaimed as the four boys walked in with two trays of food each.
“Sirius!” Maria exclaimed taking a tray of food from Remus as Peter handed his extra tray to Lily. “How are you eating that?” she pointed to the two overly overflowing trays.
“Well, one’s for Seina,” Sirius explained, handing her a tray.
“That’s still a lot,” Maria eyed his food.
He just shrugged and started stuffing his face.
Siena looked at the tray. “I’m supposed to eat all of that?”
“You’ve been unconscious for days. You need food,” Sirius replied.
Siena sighed, looking at all the food. “But there’s so much!”
“Just eat,” James said. “It’s fun.”
Siena and Lily both raised eyebrows.
“It’s James,” Remus shrugged. “You get used to it.”
Siena looked at the food, then back up to Sirius, still eating, and then back down at the food.
She sighed and took a bite. As she chewed, she looked up at Sirius and wrinkled her nose. “Gross.”
Sirius swallowed loudly. “You know you love me,” he smirked before going back to his food.
Siena blushed and looked down, ignoring the looks she knew Lily and Maria were sending towards her.
~*~
“Sirius!” Siena sighed. “Just pick one already! Why are you being so picky?”
“Because I want to make the perfect potion,” Sirius replied, setting aside another book.
“That’ll be Lily and Remus,” Siena said. “They’re the smartest.”
“But they’re trying to make that one new potion, so they might not be able to make it very well,” Sirius reasoned, “Plus, Wolfsbane is supposed to be super hard to make and everything.”
“That’s beside the point,” Siena said. “Just pick a potion already.”
“We need a good one!”
“We already saw a trillion good ones!”
“But not the right one.”
Siena sighed exasperatedly. “Fine, then I’m just going to sit here until you pick a potion.”
“Whatever,” Sirius kept looking through his book.
Siena rolled her eyes at him, sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms. She observed Sirius in an annoyed way, but slowly, the irritation vanished.
Instead, Siena found herself smiling at Sirius’s glasses. Yes, glasses. He had reading glasses, but he refused to wear them in public, which was why the pair was spread out in the Heads’ common room with two dozen potions books from the library, plus more from the shelves behind them.
At first, when they had started working, Sirius would squint a lot and insist that Siena just read out loud, but then, Remus came in while they were working and made Sirius put his glasses on. Then, Siena spent a good twenty minutes laughing at him before they began working again.
Actually, Siena thought he looked quite cute, but she turned beat read at the mere thought.
Well, he was Sirius, so he looked good no matter what. He had that hair that always looked effortlessly perfect and then fell into his face all cutely. You could just barely make out his eyes behind his bangs. And they were pretty awesome eyes. They were all grey and always different; they could be happy, like in Potions, then all devious, which meant prank time, or just at peace, which Siena had noticed was at night, usually before he went up to sleep, or in History of Magic while he wasn’t paying attention.
And then the way he smiled. It went with the eyes. There was that super happy smile that Siena always got, and then sometimes, she even got that heart melting crooked smile which made her turn red and lose ability to think. And then there was that prank smirk, or that smug smile when he won an argument with Lily.
And then he always raised his eyebrows all hotly whenever Siena lost the ability to speak at the heart melting smiles. Then he’d laugh and Siena would hit his arm and then they’d both laugh.
Oh yeah. Definitely not a crush.
Siena frowned. That voice sounded too much like Maria. Of course, she’d been saying that for the past two weeks, ever since Siena first woke up.
Okay, so fine, maybe she did have a teeny tiny little crush on Sirius, but so what?
And it wasn’t really her fault. It was his fault! It should be a crime to look so…so…perfect. Girls were forced to fall for him even when they didn’t want to.
Falling for Sirius was definitely the last this Siena wanted. It was just bad.
“I’ve got it!” Sirius exclaimed, making Siena’s heart stop.
And then she had to smile at his excited, victory expression.
Darn it!
“Finally,” Siena sighed. She was getting good at acting all normally around him.
“Polyjuice Potion!”
Siena raised an eyebrow. “Is that even legal?”
Sirius nodded. “Sure it is, as long as we get permission from Slughorn.”
“And Professor Slughorn’s going to give you permission to brew Polyjuice Potion?” Siena asked.
“No,” Sirius shook his head, “but he will give you permission, so you have to go quick, and get permission to get Moste Potente Potions out of the Restricted Section. There’s no way anybody would give me permission to go in there.”
“And with good reason,” Siena muttered under her breath.
Sirius didn’t hear her. “This is just great!” he said excitedly. “Totally beats Prongs and Maria’s Veritaserum!”
Siena sighed. “Well, I know it’s going to take a month to brew, which means we have to get started now and we cannot mess up.”
Sirius nodded. “Right. Now, go get the permission slip!”
Well, I disappeared, then reappeared with this pathetic thing, but I still want feedback! It can be your Christmas gift to me!
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
Chapter 13: Changing
“Okay, this is our chance, Lils,” Maria said excitedly. “You Stun her and I’ll tie her up, and then –“
“Why are we Stunning me?” Siena sat up in her bed to find Lily and Maria standing over her.
Maria’s excited expression dropped. “Lily! You woke her up!”
Lily rolled her eyes. “I don’t think Stunning and tying up is necessary, Mary.”
“But where’s the fun in that?”
“What do you people want?” Siena moaned. “I was sleeping!”
“We have to talk,” Lily said.
“Can’t it wait ‘till like, I don’t know, maybe when the sun comes up!”
“No,” Maria replied. “The boys are always around then, and it’s impossible to get you away from Sirius.”
Siena froze. Oh boy.
Lily and Maria exchanged looks.
“Alright, here’s the deal,” the two girls got settled on the bed next to her. “Ever since you and Sirius got paired up, you’ve changed. You’re the same person as always, and we still love you forever, but now, it’s different. Don’t say anything,” Maria added as Siena opened her mouth to speak. “We like it like this, seriously. You talk to us more, and you’re happier and more confident. This is a good Siena.”
Siena had blushed red. “Look, you guys, I don’t –“
“We’re not done yet,” Lily cut her off. “We can see that this has everything to do with Sirius.”
“I don’t –“
“You were afraid to trust other people and to talk to other people. You were afraid of what they’d think of you and if they’d like you. And then Sirius came along and he was nice to you, and I know that when you became our friend, you’d already changed from the tiny little girl on the Hogwarts’ Express whose compartment Mary hijacked.”
Siena sighed. She’d known that she’d been changing. And she also knew that Lily and Maria noticed. She’d also figured out that it had something to do with Sirius. Lily was right. Realizing that someone other than Lily and Maria actually wanted to bother talking to her had kind of upped her confidence level just a bit.
“We can see you changing Sie,” Lily said. “It is a good thing.”
“But you have to stop pretending,” Maria added. “You have to stop running away when you realize that you’ve spoken out or said something witty or put someone in their place.”
Siena looked at them. “So what?” she asked. “What do you want to do about it? What was the point of waking me up?”
Maria sighed. “Because Sie!” she exclaimed. “You won’t let yourself change! You try to stop it!”
“What she means,” Lily said, “is that you keep trying to block yourself from opening up. You’re still afraid to trust other people Sie, and it’s trapping you inside of yourself.”
Siena stared at her and then scoffed. “Yeah, sure.”
“Siena!” Lily sighed. “Stop it!”
“Even if you were right, who else is there really to open up to or trust? Besides the two of you, who already know everything about me, what other friends do I have?”
Maria rolled her eyes. “You know those idiots that follow us around?”
Siena stared at her. Trust the Marauders? Was she insane? And since when were they friends? Sure the boys sat with them at meals sometimes or hung out in the Head’s Dorm with them, and she was working on that project with Sirius, but there wasn’t anything, more than that. They were acquaintances. They talked a bit, sometimes ate together, but that was it.
Siena shook her head. “You’re the only ones, other than my family, that I could ever really trust.” Siena pulled her blanket up slighty, lying back down. “In fact, you are my family as well, and that leaves no one else.”
~*~
Lily and Maria were worried about Siena. For six years, they’d just accepted that she was their sweet, quiet, shy friend, but that had all changed this year. Siena may not be realizing it, and she may be trying to stop it, but she was coming out.
Sirius, who at first was so sweet to Siena, acting like someone else, was now sat with her at a table in the Gryffindor Common Room, acting as normally stupid and jokingly as ever. Siena was laughing at him, throwing him some witty comment as he pretended to be upset.
To Siena they may have just been Potions partners, but everyone else could see her feeling more comfortable with him; they were evolving into friends.
It was the same with the rest of the Marauders. Siena had suddenly become like their little pet. As the boys began spending more and more time with the girls, Siena was like their favorite. The boys just loved Siena. They were always nice to her, while they were always having little arguments with Lily and Maria, in the way that friends did in all fun, poking a little fun at them, coming up with something to say whenever the girls poked fun at them, which was often. With Siena however, she could say anything to them, and they’d just pout or shoot her a hurt look and start grumbling about there not being anything they could possibly say to her.
November had been upon them for a couple of weeks as the weather started to change. And with the weather, the boys’ and girls’ relationship also changed. They’d slowly started spending more time together. Even Lily had begun to, slowly, start accepting friendship with James.
Siena, however, was still adamant that they were still just mere acquaintances. Her friends understood why she wouldn’t, and didn’t expect her to, completely open up. The other two girls were the same. They considered the boys friends, but Lily hadn’t told them about her sister and Maria hadn’t dared tell them about her family.
It would take time all around; of course it would. It took the full first year for the girls to really come to understand each other, and there were still little things they’d learned in the later years. They couldn’t suddenly be expected to spill their hearts out and share every little thing. And the boys were the same. The girls didn’t know every little thing about them either.
But they were friends. They spent time together, and they were comfortable with each other. Siena seemed to have, sort of, accepted that. Maybe it was just that Siena’s standard of friends was what she had with Maria and Lily; knowing every little thing about each other.
And one thing Siena had always been so afraid to do was to trust other people. She had her family and Lily and Maria, so who else needed to know anything about her? And who else could be trusted to know? She wouldn’t trust others, and she made sure she wouldn’t.
What she hadn’t realized was that she was starting to trust more than she had thought. She trusted Sirius with plenty, though she hadn’t realized it. She would tell him things she hadn’t thought she would share, had he ever asked. There had yet to come a time where Siena had to trust him, so maybe that’s why she hadn’t realized she’d trust him so easily.
Siena believed that Sirius was still her Potions partner and her crush, and that was it. She didn’t realize he was her friend or that the time they spent together was beginning in the same way as her friendship had with the girls.
She was shy and sat quietly the first day on the train until, eventually, Maria stopped blabbering and flat out told her to talk. She started out shakily, but she realized they wanted to hear her speak, that they wanted to know about her. She’d been glad they’d talked. When they got to Hogwarts, Lily and Maria would pop up everywhere, taking empty seats by her in classes, showing up in front of her at meals, joining her in the library, sitting out on the grounds with her, walking to classes with her, talking to her the entire time. And within a few months, Siena realized they were friends. Eventually, she’d see the Marauders were her friends too. It would just take time, and that’s what Lily and Maria were counting on.
~*~
“Siena…”
“Yes Sirius?” she sighed, looking up from the potion.
“Nothing,” he said, going back to counting out pieces of knotgrass.
“Sirius!” Siena cried exasperatedly. “That’s the sixth time you’ve done that!”
“What?” he looked back up, holding up three fingers on his left hand and four on his right; “so I don’t forget what number I was on,” he’d explained when Siena had asked the first time. “It was just too quiet.” ‘And I missed your voice.’
Siena rolled her eyes but turned to the fluxweed. “Are you sure these were picked on the full moon?”
Sirius nodded. “Got ‘em myself.”
Siena raised an eyebrow. “When?”
“On the full moon!” Sirius said in a tone that add “duh!”
Siena rolled her eyes again. “I know that. You snuck out for them?”
“Well…” Sirius said mysteriously with a twinkle in his eye, “I had other business to attend to that night, but I got it on the way.”
Siena gave him a skeptical look, but didn’t question. She’d long since learned that that tone meant “top secret confidential Marauder business that there’s no way I’m ever telling you about.”
Sirius went back to counting his grass and Siena started on the fluxweed. She needed 43. Why were Potions so particular?
The pair counted in silence for a few minutes before Sirius triumphantly set down a handful of knotgrass, far from what he’d counted out. “97!”
“Recount it,” Siena said without looking up.
“But there’s 97!” he exclaimed.
“So? I’m recounting for the third time.”
Sirius gave her a look. “Lily has rubbed off on you,” he stated. “I’m sure you and I have both counted correctly the first time.”
“We can’t afford mistakes, Sirius!” Siena snapped. “If we mess up, we’re screwed. The potion won’t be done until twenty minutes before it’s due as it is!”
“Alright, alright,” Sirius held his hands up in defense. “I’m recounting.”
Siena sent him an annoyed glare as he started counting out little pieces of grass again with a grin on his face.
“What?” she asked in annoyance after a minute or so.
“I didn’t do anything!” Sirius cried, looking up again.
“You’re smiling.”
“Oh sorry,” he said sarcastically, “didn’t know that was Azkaban worthy now.”
“Sirius!”
“It’s nothing, I swear!” he exclaimed.
Siena continued to glare, and even more so as Sirius smiled again.
“Okay, okay!” he laughed. “You look like you’re about to growl at me!”
And at that, Siena nearly did.
“It’s just, three months ago, I had to force you to talk to me,” Sirius explained, “and now you’re shouting and glaring and growling.”
“I didn’t growl,” Siena muttered under her breath, though she was going red.
Sirius ignored that. “It makes me happy.”
Siena looked back down at her fluxweed, face still red, looking as if she wished her hair wasn’t tied up, but, as Sirius had learned, she couldn’t stand to work, write, eat, or do much of anything other than walking with her hair down because, “it’s annoying and gets in the way!”
And there was one more thing he loved about her.
Sirius grinned again as he went back to counting knotgrass.
~*~
Hogwarts was buzzing.
There were a few reasons for this.
First, it was December. This made people happy because it was officially the holiday season. The giant Christmas trees had been dragged in and were being decorated, the Marauders had done their “It’s finally the holidays!” prank, and Peeves was zooming about singing crude versions of Christmas carols and throwing stolen ornaments at first years.
Second, it had snowed. Students had woken up on the first Saturday of December and found the grounds covered in a thick blanket of white. So of course, they had all jumped straight out of bed, ignored all homework, even Lily, and run outside where the Marauders started a snowball fight between all houses. They threw balls of cold and shouted and laughed straight through lunch and well into dinner until Professor Dumbledore declared Gryffindor the winners and awarded Slytherin second place, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff following behind. Much to the students’ amusement and McGonagall’s irritation, Dumbledore also awarded house points to all houses, respectively.
The following Sunday also brought excitement with the announcement of a Hogsmeade trip planned for the following Saturday, December 9. Of course, this would have normally meant gaggles of girls lining up to ask one of the Marauders to escort them to the village. However, this time, this did not happen.
The reason was the notice on Sunday morning posted right above the notice for Hogsmeade. This sign, creating a whole new fit of excitement, announced the Christmas Ball. This meant a lot of giggling girls and nervous boys. It also meant more persistent begging on the female population’s behalf in hopes of convincing a Marauder to take them. It also meant that Hogwarts castle would be housing more pupils than it ever had for Christmas as the Ball was set to be on Christmas Eve night.
All in all, the general population of Hogwarts was in an uproar.
No one paid much attention in classes anymore, much to the teachers’ frustration. They tried to give more homework, but no one cared much for it, they gave pop quizzes, but those just brought plenty of T’s, and they were growing impatient. Finally, McGonagall had threatened to cancel the Ball, and that’s what finally got Hogwarts refocused on classes.
However, everyone was still on their toes for the upcoming Ball.
I was gone for so long! It was horrible! I’m not even going to waste my time. I don’t think this makes up for it, but at least it’s something! Feedback is very much appreciated!
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
“Okay, this is our chance, Lils,” Maria said excitedly. “You Stun her and I’ll tie her up, and then –“
“Why are we Stunning me?” Siena sat up in her bed to find Lily and Maria standing over her.
Maria’s excited expression dropped. “Lily! You woke her up!”
Lily rolled her eyes. “I don’t think Stunning and tying up is necessary, Mary.”
“But where’s the fun in that?”
“What do you people want?” Siena moaned. “I was sleeping!”
“We have to talk,” Lily said.
“Can’t it wait ‘till like, I don’t know, maybe when the sun comes up!”
“No,” Maria replied. “The boys are always around then, and it’s impossible to get you away from Sirius.”
Siena froze. Oh boy.
Lily and Maria exchanged looks.
“Alright, here’s the deal,” the two girls got settled on the bed next to her. “Ever since you and Sirius got paired up, you’ve changed. You’re the same person as always, and we still love you forever, but now, it’s different. Don’t say anything,” Maria added as Siena opened her mouth to speak. “We like it like this, seriously. You talk to us more, and you’re happier and more confident. This is a good Siena.”
Siena had blushed red. “Look, you guys, I don’t –“
“We’re not done yet,” Lily cut her off. “We can see that this has everything to do with Sirius.”
“I don’t –“
“You were afraid to trust other people and to talk to other people. You were afraid of what they’d think of you and if they’d like you. And then Sirius came along and he was nice to you, and I know that when you became our friend, you’d already changed from the tiny little girl on the Hogwarts’ Express whose compartment Mary hijacked.”
Siena sighed. She’d known that she’d been changing. And she also knew that Lily and Maria noticed. She’d also figured out that it had something to do with Sirius. Lily was right. Realizing that someone other than Lily and Maria actually wanted to bother talking to her had kind of upped her confidence level just a bit.
“We can see you changing Sie,” Lily said. “It is a good thing.”
“But you have to stop pretending,” Maria added. “You have to stop running away when you realize that you’ve spoken out or said something witty or put someone in their place.”
Siena looked at them. “So what?” she asked. “What do you want to do about it? What was the point of waking me up?”
Maria sighed. “Because Sie!” she exclaimed. “You won’t let yourself change! You try to stop it!”
“What she means,” Lily said, “is that you keep trying to block yourself from opening up. You’re still afraid to trust other people Sie, and it’s trapping you inside of yourself.”
Siena stared at her and then scoffed. “Yeah, sure.”
“Siena!” Lily sighed. “Stop it!”
“Even if you were right, who else is there really to open up to or trust? Besides the two of you, who already know everything about me, what other friends do I have?”
Maria rolled her eyes. “You know those idiots that follow us around?”
Siena stared at her. Trust the Marauders? Was she insane? And since when were they friends? Sure the boys sat with them at meals sometimes or hung out in the Head’s Dorm with them, and she was working on that project with Sirius, but there wasn’t anything, more than that. They were acquaintances. They talked a bit, sometimes ate together, but that was it.
Siena shook her head. “You’re the only ones, other than my family, that I could ever really trust.” Siena pulled her blanket up slighty, lying back down. “In fact, you are my family as well, and that leaves no one else.”
~*~
Lily and Maria were worried about Siena. For six years, they’d just accepted that she was their sweet, quiet, shy friend, but that had all changed this year. Siena may not be realizing it, and she may be trying to stop it, but she was coming out.
Sirius, who at first was so sweet to Siena, acting like someone else, was now sat with her at a table in the Gryffindor Common Room, acting as normally stupid and jokingly as ever. Siena was laughing at him, throwing him some witty comment as he pretended to be upset.
To Siena they may have just been Potions partners, but everyone else could see her feeling more comfortable with him; they were evolving into friends.
It was the same with the rest of the Marauders. Siena had suddenly become like their little pet. As the boys began spending more and more time with the girls, Siena was like their favorite. The boys just loved Siena. They were always nice to her, while they were always having little arguments with Lily and Maria, in the way that friends did in all fun, poking a little fun at them, coming up with something to say whenever the girls poked fun at them, which was often. With Siena however, she could say anything to them, and they’d just pout or shoot her a hurt look and start grumbling about there not being anything they could possibly say to her.
November had been upon them for a couple of weeks as the weather started to change. And with the weather, the boys’ and girls’ relationship also changed. They’d slowly started spending more time together. Even Lily had begun to, slowly, start accepting friendship with James.
Siena, however, was still adamant that they were still just mere acquaintances. Her friends understood why she wouldn’t, and didn’t expect her to, completely open up. The other two girls were the same. They considered the boys friends, but Lily hadn’t told them about her sister and Maria hadn’t dared tell them about her family.
It would take time all around; of course it would. It took the full first year for the girls to really come to understand each other, and there were still little things they’d learned in the later years. They couldn’t suddenly be expected to spill their hearts out and share every little thing. And the boys were the same. The girls didn’t know every little thing about them either.
But they were friends. They spent time together, and they were comfortable with each other. Siena seemed to have, sort of, accepted that. Maybe it was just that Siena’s standard of friends was what she had with Maria and Lily; knowing every little thing about each other.
And one thing Siena had always been so afraid to do was to trust other people. She had her family and Lily and Maria, so who else needed to know anything about her? And who else could be trusted to know? She wouldn’t trust others, and she made sure she wouldn’t.
What she hadn’t realized was that she was starting to trust more than she had thought. She trusted Sirius with plenty, though she hadn’t realized it. She would tell him things she hadn’t thought she would share, had he ever asked. There had yet to come a time where Siena had to trust him, so maybe that’s why she hadn’t realized she’d trust him so easily.
Siena believed that Sirius was still her Potions partner and her crush, and that was it. She didn’t realize he was her friend or that the time they spent together was beginning in the same way as her friendship had with the girls.
She was shy and sat quietly the first day on the train until, eventually, Maria stopped blabbering and flat out told her to talk. She started out shakily, but she realized they wanted to hear her speak, that they wanted to know about her. She’d been glad they’d talked. When they got to Hogwarts, Lily and Maria would pop up everywhere, taking empty seats by her in classes, showing up in front of her at meals, joining her in the library, sitting out on the grounds with her, walking to classes with her, talking to her the entire time. And within a few months, Siena realized they were friends. Eventually, she’d see the Marauders were her friends too. It would just take time, and that’s what Lily and Maria were counting on.
~*~
“Siena…”
“Yes Sirius?” she sighed, looking up from the potion.
“Nothing,” he said, going back to counting out pieces of knotgrass.
“Sirius!” Siena cried exasperatedly. “That’s the sixth time you’ve done that!”
“What?” he looked back up, holding up three fingers on his left hand and four on his right; “so I don’t forget what number I was on,” he’d explained when Siena had asked the first time. “It was just too quiet.” ‘And I missed your voice.’
Siena rolled her eyes but turned to the fluxweed. “Are you sure these were picked on the full moon?”
Sirius nodded. “Got ‘em myself.”
Siena raised an eyebrow. “When?”
“On the full moon!” Sirius said in a tone that add “duh!”
Siena rolled her eyes again. “I know that. You snuck out for them?”
“Well…” Sirius said mysteriously with a twinkle in his eye, “I had other business to attend to that night, but I got it on the way.”
Siena gave him a skeptical look, but didn’t question. She’d long since learned that that tone meant “top secret confidential Marauder business that there’s no way I’m ever telling you about.”
Sirius went back to counting his grass and Siena started on the fluxweed. She needed 43. Why were Potions so particular?
The pair counted in silence for a few minutes before Sirius triumphantly set down a handful of knotgrass, far from what he’d counted out. “97!”
“Recount it,” Siena said without looking up.
“But there’s 97!” he exclaimed.
“So? I’m recounting for the third time.”
Sirius gave her a look. “Lily has rubbed off on you,” he stated. “I’m sure you and I have both counted correctly the first time.”
“We can’t afford mistakes, Sirius!” Siena snapped. “If we mess up, we’re screwed. The potion won’t be done until twenty minutes before it’s due as it is!”
“Alright, alright,” Sirius held his hands up in defense. “I’m recounting.”
Siena sent him an annoyed glare as he started counting out little pieces of grass again with a grin on his face.
“What?” she asked in annoyance after a minute or so.
“I didn’t do anything!” Sirius cried, looking up again.
“You’re smiling.”
“Oh sorry,” he said sarcastically, “didn’t know that was Azkaban worthy now.”
“Sirius!”
“It’s nothing, I swear!” he exclaimed.
Siena continued to glare, and even more so as Sirius smiled again.
“Okay, okay!” he laughed. “You look like you’re about to growl at me!”
And at that, Siena nearly did.
“It’s just, three months ago, I had to force you to talk to me,” Sirius explained, “and now you’re shouting and glaring and growling.”
“I didn’t growl,” Siena muttered under her breath, though she was going red.
Sirius ignored that. “It makes me happy.”
Siena looked back down at her fluxweed, face still red, looking as if she wished her hair wasn’t tied up, but, as Sirius had learned, she couldn’t stand to work, write, eat, or do much of anything other than walking with her hair down because, “it’s annoying and gets in the way!”
And there was one more thing he loved about her.
Sirius grinned again as he went back to counting knotgrass.
~*~
Hogwarts was buzzing.
There were a few reasons for this.
First, it was December. This made people happy because it was officially the holiday season. The giant Christmas trees had been dragged in and were being decorated, the Marauders had done their “It’s finally the holidays!” prank, and Peeves was zooming about singing crude versions of Christmas carols and throwing stolen ornaments at first years.
Second, it had snowed. Students had woken up on the first Saturday of December and found the grounds covered in a thick blanket of white. So of course, they had all jumped straight out of bed, ignored all homework, even Lily, and run outside where the Marauders started a snowball fight between all houses. They threw balls of cold and shouted and laughed straight through lunch and well into dinner until Professor Dumbledore declared Gryffindor the winners and awarded Slytherin second place, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff following behind. Much to the students’ amusement and McGonagall’s irritation, Dumbledore also awarded house points to all houses, respectively.
The following Sunday also brought excitement with the announcement of a Hogsmeade trip planned for the following Saturday, December 9. Of course, this would have normally meant gaggles of girls lining up to ask one of the Marauders to escort them to the village. However, this time, this did not happen.
The reason was the notice on Sunday morning posted right above the notice for Hogsmeade. This sign, creating a whole new fit of excitement, announced the Christmas Ball. This meant a lot of giggling girls and nervous boys. It also meant more persistent begging on the female population’s behalf in hopes of convincing a Marauder to take them. It also meant that Hogwarts castle would be housing more pupils than it ever had for Christmas as the Ball was set to be on Christmas Eve night.
All in all, the general population of Hogwarts was in an uproar.
No one paid much attention in classes anymore, much to the teachers’ frustration. They tried to give more homework, but no one cared much for it, they gave pop quizzes, but those just brought plenty of T’s, and they were growing impatient. Finally, McGonagall had threatened to cancel the Ball, and that’s what finally got Hogwarts refocused on classes.
However, everyone was still on their toes for the upcoming Ball.
I was gone for so long! It was horrible! I’m not even going to waste my time. I don’t think this makes up for it, but at least it’s something! Feedback is very much appreciated!
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
Chapter 14: Small People in Hogsmeade
Hogwarts was in an uproar.
Most of them were furious; Slytherins were mostly nonchalant.
There was much hate for the school board from most of the student population. James and Maria were still planning an attack. No joke. They would have too, except Remus stopped them. Probably just for Siena’s sake. He wouldn’t have really minded. No one would have. Except Siena. Just because she was Siena.
Dumbledore, who had never been angrier in his life, had pushed the suspension an extra month, but couldn’t get any further. Many people were unhappy.
And that was putting it lightly.
Really lightly.
The thing was, Siena had gained herself a place in the Social Hierarchy of Hogwarts. She, and Lily and Maria, had reached a place close to the top with the Marauders. Granted, Lily had always been well known for blowing off James. Her temper, and also her compassion, if that made any sense, were both famous and loved. It was a part of Hogwarts.
Maria had been Lily’s friend with all the guys. The fact that she was Lily’s friend and really hated skirts had preserved her honor. The way she dated, there was a lot that could be going around about her. Granted, many girls had tried to start rumors, but there was something about Maria that kept them from spreading far. She had an independence and grace that, while she dated so much, kept her reputation intact. It was her personality that was light and bubbly, rather than girlish and high-maintenance.
Siena, however, had gone unnoticed in the past. It was just who she was; quiet and in the shadow. And then, suddenly, her cover was blown. Immediately following her “accident,” there had been a rush of sympathy and support. It was a realization that this was a girl so sweet and quiet, why would anyone attack her. And then there was curiosity. Who was this girl? People wondered what it was about her that attracted notorious heartbreaker Sirius Black. What was so special that he cared? When Siena had healed and come back, people crowded to know her. It was soon realized that this was a girl who was indeed sweet and innocent. People fell in love. They barely knew this girl, but something about her was enchanting.
So of course, Hogwarts, loving her so much, had been furious to learn that Heidi Andrews, Olivia Daniels, and Tessa Sillians were coming back.
It had been known that it was only a suspension, but the way Dumbledore worked and pushed, people were sure that he’d manage to get them out for good. But alas, all he managed was an extended suspension. Two months and they were back.
But maybe returning was worse than being kicked out. With the way Hogwarts felt about the three Gryffindors, they’d better be watching themselves. A loyalty for Siena Vertenella had emerged within almost all of Hogwarts. And the students would make sure that Heidi, Olivia, and Tessa knew that.
~*~
It was Saturday. That meant Hogsmeade.
The girls had bundled up in their winter attire and set off for the village in high spirits.
Mostly.
Lily and Maria were going on about the ball. They were blabbering away about this and that and everything else.
Siena was quiet. She still hadn’t gotten out of going. She had been thinking about going home for the holidays, but like Lily and Maria would let her. Even if her parents had asked her to come home, her friends would have written to them and explained the situation. After finding out about the ball, her parents would be all for Siena staying at Hogwarts.
Getting “sick” wouldn’t work either because Madame Pomfrey was a miracle worker. She could heal almost everything. Almost. Except for when Siena had to go to St. Mungos’. But a fake illness wouldn’t land her in the hospital. Unfortunately.
“Hel-lo! Sie!”
Siena jumped and turned to Maria. “What?”
Maria rolled her eyes. “You got lost again,” Maria explained. “I was just suggesting Honeydukes.”
Siena nodded, pushing the dance off to the side. “I love the candy.”
Lily laughed. “We know.”
The three girls had made their way to the crowded sweet shop with minimal difficulties. Inside was a different story, however. The tiny shop was crowded with students seeking out candy. After all, what children didn’t make a direct beeline for the candy store?
“We should have gotten the dresses first.” Maria mumbled, shoving her way to the shelves of sugar quills.
“Then we would have been trampled by screaming females,” Lily pointed out.
“Plus all the candy here is already disappearing,” Siena pointed to the chocolate shelves which were indeed almost emptied.
“There’s some up there,” Maria pointed to the top shelf as she made her way over with sugar quills, Chocoballs, and Bertie Botts Beans stuffed into her bag.
“Oh yes, of course, Mary,” Siena said sarcastically, “because I can definitely reach that.”
Maria glared as she joined her. “Where’s Lily?” she asked.
“Because I can see over all these people from way down here,” Siena rolled her eyes.
“Hush up, you,” Maria snapped, craning her neck in search of Lily, who was the tallest out of the three.
“Hey, did you get the chocolate?” Lily appeared with Ice Mice, Fizzing Whizbees, Peppermint Toads, and Chocolate Frogs in her bag.
“No,” Siena glared up at the shelf. “They’re way up there and Mary thinks I can reach them.”
“Shut it, you,” Maria sent Siena a glare.
“Here, hold this,” Lily handed her bag to Siena. She than stood on her tippy-toes to try and reach the Honeydukes’ Best Chocolate, but to no avail.
“See,” Siena grinned triumphantly as Lily took her bag back. “If she couldn’t reach it, then how was I supposed to?”
“Will you be quiet?” Maria snapped, turning to glare up at the chocolate.
“Well, you people sometimes forget about my mutation.”
Lily snorted. “Being short is not a mutation.”
“It is in my book,” Siena shot back huffily.
“But not in the world of reality,” Lily countered.
“So?” Siena crossed her arms.
Lily sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Are you making fun of my mutation?” Siena glared.
“Being short is not a mutation!” Lily cried exasperatedly.
“Is to,” Siena argued stubbornly.
“Yes, but a very cute mutation.”
Siena jumped, and then went red at Sirius’s grinning face. “Leave my mutation alone,” she mumbled, looking away.
“Having troubles?” Remus asked nodding towards Maria who was still glaring at the chocolate as the rest of the Marauders appeared.
“We can’t reach it!” Maria exclaimed with a look of irritation.
Remus chuckled and reached over their heads, pulling down a bunch of chocolate and handing it to Siena.
“Stupid tall people,” Siena mumbled and glared as she took the chocolate.
“And the fudge,” James handed her some.
Lily raised an eyebrow at him.
“We saw you from the other side of the shop,” Peter answered her unasked question. “The fudge was impossible to get to.”
Lily smiled and nodded. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” Remus grinned back. “Come on people!” he added to his friends. “We have places to be!”
Maria raised a suspicious eyebrow. “To cause some mischief?”
James faked an appalled gasp. “Never!” he exclaimed. “We haven’t time for that!”
Sirius nodded in serious agreement. “None at all. No, we must head off to restock our mischief making supplies; we’re running low, you see.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “So you’re off to Zonko’s to buy some dungbombs?”
Sirius nodded, still serious. “Very important and serious business.”
Siena giggled. “Sirius indeed.”
Sirius laughed. “Why must everyone make a joke out of that?”
“Sirius serious?” Siena raised an eyebrow. “It’s more than just a bit ironic.”
“I’m not that bad!” Sirius pouted.
Siena laughed. “Sure.”
Sirius shot her a fake hurt look to which Siena replied by sticking her tongue out at him.
“Very mature, Sweetie,” Lily rolled her eyes. “Come on, let’s go pay.” She grabbed the two girls by the arms. “You lot go and get your mischief stuff,” she add as she shooed the boys out, dragging her friends up to the counter.
~*~
Siena was in the dress store. She did not want to be there. Why did she need a dress? It’s not like she was going to the ball. She just needed to figure out the plan. So the dress was pointless.
Lily and Maria were looking at dresses. The shop was empty because the rest of the pack of girls had devoured the shop before lunch. It was 2:30, so Lily and Maria were happy.
Well, actually, they were getting frustrated. They couldn’t find the right dress. That was bugging them.
Meanwhile, Siena was pretending to look for a dress in the short people section. Petite. Just pretending. She wasn’t getting a dress because she didn’t need one. In reality, Siena was trying to come up with a plan. She had little time. The Ball was in two weeks on Christmas Eve. And she still had no idea how to get out of going. She’d been forced to eliminate the good ones because they would not have worked. That left nothing.
“Ugh!” Maria groaned. “Why didn’t we come here earlier? All the good ones are gone!”
“Oh come on,” Lily shouted from the other side of the shop. “You’ll find something.”
“Any luck Sie?” Maria called to her. “You might have more choices since there aren’t any small people.”
“Shut it, Mary!” Siena snapped, jolting from her thoughts.
“There aren’t that many tall people either,” Maria pointed out. “You find anything, Lils?”
“No,” Lily sighed. “Nothing I could wear at least. I hate my hair.”
“I love it,” Siena offered. “It’s so pretty.”
“Okay, then let’s do this one at a time,” Maria abandoned her search. “Let’s go help Lily, Sie.”
Siena joined the other two in the tall section on the other side of the shop. “Where do we start?” she asked.
Maria shrugged. “There’s three rows, so, Lily, keep looking there, I’ll stay here, and Siena, go to the last row.”
Siena nodded and headed to the very back while Lily also nodded her head in agreement and resumed her search.
Siena stared up at the dresses. Had Lily looked here yet? Probably not, because there was a gorgeous emerald dress perfect for her eyes, and a great little black one that only she could pull off.
“How ‘bout these?” Siena quickly brought the two dresses to Lily.
Maria joined them and stared at the dresses. “How’d you do that so fast?” she exclaimed. “Those are perfect. Get them both, Lils.”
Lily looked at the two dresses carefully. “Well…” she reached for the green one, “I’ll try this one, but I don’t know about that other one.”
“Lily!” Maria exclaimed. “What’s wrong with it?”
Lily raised an eyebrow at the small, sleeveless dress.
“Come on, you got the curves for it!” Maria ripped the green dress from her hands and shoved the black one at her instead.
“But –“
“Dressing rooms,” Maria pointed sternly. “Now.”
Lily sighed exasperatedly. “Fine.” She shot a longing look at the sparkly, emerald halter dress, but then took the little black one to the changing rooms with her.
Maria crossed her arms across her chest with a satisfactory grin in place. “She’ll look great in that.”
Siena nodded in agreement. The fact that Lily had an amazing body made up for the fact that she had to eliminate most colors from her wardrobe.
“Okay, so,” Maria placed the green dress back on a rack, “My turn. Help me find something, Sie.”
“Wait!” Lily called from her changing room. “You have to tell me how I look.”
Maria sighed exaggeratedly. “I already know you’ll look great.”
“I don’t care,” Lily snapped. “Okay, I’m coming out.”
Maria sighed again. “Fine, let’s get this over with.”
Lily pulled the curtain back and stepped out of the changing room with a glare for Maria.
She replied with a smirk.
“What?”
“You look amazing, Lily,” Siena answered her with a grin. “Really.”
Maria nodded in agreement. “Told you so.”
Lily spared her another glare before turning back to Siena. “You think?”
Siena nodded with a smile. “It’s great.”
And it was. The dress hugged her curves perfectly, showing her shape off. The neckline didn’t dip too much, just enough, and the dress didn’t reveal too much leg. Lily, being so tall, had a lot of leg to spare. Siena was really jealous.
“I’m jealous.”
Lily laughed. “Well, it does look pretty great,” she looked at herself in the mirror. “I’ll get it.”
“Okay,” maria shoved Lily back behind the curtain, “You change back and me and Siena will get me a dress.”
“Siena and I,” Lily muttered bitterly from behind the curtain.
Maria ignored her and dragged Siena to the average section. She made a face at the sign saying so. “’Average’ is so demoralizing.”
Siena rolled her eyes at her. “C’mon.” she dragged her into the first row of dresses. “We’ll do the same thing again; you stay here, I’ll go in the next one and, Lily,” she raised her voice, “you’re in the back!”
There was a muffled, “Yeah!” that was good enough for siena and she set to work.
Lily ended up coming back with her dress and managed to find Maria the perfect dress. It was not red, but scarlet, as Siena insisted, and backless with a halter neck, stopping a couple inches above the knee. Admittedly, anyone other than Maria may have been called a **** for wearing it, but she got to get away with it.
Then it was Siena’s turn. And she still did not have a plan. That would complicate matters.
“Okay, now Sie,” Maria grabbed her arm and dragged her along. “Petite. Why can’t we average people have something cool in French?”
“Because they figured saying small people might be rude,” Lily volunteered, joining her friends in the petite section.
“Average is rude,” Maria pointed out.
“Not really.”
“Well I think it is,” Maria mumbled under her breath.
Siena ignored the pair. She needed a plan. Fast.
“Oh whatever,” Lily sighed exasperatedly. “Let’s just get Siena a dress.”
Maria huffed. “Fine.”
The two girls set off to find dresses.
Com on brain! Siena urged. Quick!
“Sie?”
She hadn’t moved.
“I…er…I don’t…need a dress,” Siena stammered wildly.
“Why?” Lily raised an eyebrow.
Think of something!
“I’m…uh…I’m gonna be…sick that day.”
What?
Good job stupid brain!
“You’re what?”
Siena shrugged helplessly, internally scolding her mind. ‘Gonna be sick?’ Seriously? “I just have the…uh…feeling.”
Lily and Maria exchanged glances, Maria already holding a navy blue halter with thin crossing straps in the back, mostly backless.
Without a word, the two girls marched to the counter, maria paying for both dresses she was holding. They both returned with their purchases in bags to where Siena was still stood silently.
Wordlessly, Lily grabbed Siena’s arm and dragged her out the shop. Maria followed them up the street to the edge of the village, out to the Shrieking Shack.
Finally, Lily released Siena’s arm. The red-head and the brunette dropped their bags by a tree and fixed their friend with a glare, arms crossed firmly across their chest.
“Speak,” Maria commanded.
Siena looked back helplessly. “Uh…um…you know…time of month….”
“That was last week,” Maria kept her glare in place.
Siena fell silent. She had nothing.
“Siena Vertenella!”
“Come on, you guys!” Siena sank down to sit in the snow. “You know I don’t do dances!”
“Siena!” Maria sighed, her and Lily sitting in front of her.
“What is with you?” Lily cried out in exasperation.
“I don’t know,” Siena shrugged. “Just…”
“You can’t bail on this dance, Sie!” Maria exclaimed.
“But, seriously, you guys,” Siena sighed. “You know I can’t!”
“Why not,” Maria challenged.
“Because…because I can’t!” Siena cried. “I don’t have a date –“
“Neither do we,” Lily pointed out.
“Yet,” Siena muttered.
“Siena!” Maria exclaimed.
“You know we all decided to go with just friends,” Lily sighed. “The guys aren’t getting dates either. And you know they could if they wanted to.”
“But that’s not it,” Siena went on. “I don’t dance and I can’t wear dresses and I get all –“
“Siena!” Lily shouted firmly.
“Shut it!” Maria added in the same tone.
Siena slid her face into her hands and took a deep breath, letting it out.
“What is with you, Sie?” Lily asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Siena shook her head. “I don’t know.” Her voice was slightly muffled due to her hands still in the way, but her two friends could clearly hear the tears in her voice.
“Talk to us, Siena,” Maria said softly. “What’s the matter?”
Siena didn’t even know. She was losing it. Everything was going crazy. This whole year. It was all just so…
And she couldn’t make sense of it all. Nothing made sense. It was all just screwed up.
And she couldn’t take.
I don’t know. I just felt like ending it there.
Ignoring the long absence, you'll be happy to know that I'm close to done with the next one and it has the whole revelation tie-together thingy. I don't know. I like the next one. It sort of puts together all of the beginning of the story, so that it continues from there.
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21266
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