Part 2: Yule Balls & Secrets
(Year 5 at Hogwarts)
Lyndell Greenleaf gasped. "Lyria? Is it really you?"
Lily joined in. "I'm even impressed, and I helped you pull it off."
Lyria Strider merely laughed. "Well, I couldn't have pulled off Operation Look Like A Girl without you two." It was the night before they would return to Hogwarts for their fifth year, and Lyria had asked her friends to help her look, as she put it, "more like a girl and less like my brother." And, she noticed, it seemed to have worked.
Lyndell spoke so quietly Lyria almost didn't hear her. "Your hair is shorter than mine now, even." Snape had used a severing charm on Lyndell that had cut her hair from her waist to her shoulders, and for some reason it didn't want to grow.
"Yours is pretty too, even if that idiot chopped it," Lily assured Lyndell. "I'm sure Remus likes it."
Lyndell blushed.
Lyria laughed. "You're both crazy! I mean, James is a nice guy, Lily, and it's great that you two started going out last year. And Lyndell, I'm sure if Remus ever gets the nerve to ask you out, you'll be a cute couple. But I'm still glad I really don't feel that way for anyone right now."
"Not even Sirius?" Lily teased her friend.
"Sirius Black?" Lyria stared rather stupidly at Lily.
"He's nice. And he's cute," Lily pointed out.
"He always makes you laugh," Lyndell chimed in.
"*Cute*? Are we talking about the same Sirius Black? And he doesn't make me laugh, I laugh at him. There's a difference." Lyria replied.
Lyndell and Lily just looked at each other knowingly.
Lyria gave them an annoyed glare. "Come on, you two. You can't get romantically involved with someone you shared your fingerpaints with!"
The three burst into laughter. It was good to be together again.
They were sitting in their usual compartment the next morning when they were joined by four familiar faces.
"James!" Lily cried immediately, making room for her boyfriend to sit next to her. The rest of the Gryffindors had named them the cutest couple in the house last year, and it was a source of never ending teasing from their close friends.
"Aww, how sweet!" Sirius flopped into the seat next to Lyria. She was staring out the window. He stared at her. "Umm.. do I know you?"
Lyri burst into laughter. "Oh, only the day after I was born! Who did you think it was?"
"It's just you?" Sirius sighed disappointedly.
Peter, sitting on the floor, was staring awestruck at the currently snogging James & Lily. "T-they haven't st-stopped in almost a minute!"
Remus and Lyndell were talking in a corner and trying to ignore Lily and James. Lyria had gone back to staring out the window.
Sirius, feeling rather lonely, amused himself by throwing Ever Flavor Beans at Peter.
They passed the rest of the train ride making jokes and catching up.
"I can't believe we're having a formal dance again. The Yule Ball is going to be even better this year," Lily was saying excitedly. The announcement had been made last night, and the three girls were discussing it on their way to Transfiguration.
"Well, you've got a date," Lyndell sighed sadly.
"You will too, Lyndell. You *know* Remus will ask you," Lyri replied.
Lily gave Lyria a mischievous grin. "That just leaves you dateless..."
"And *I* don't care. I'll have a good time with or without a date," Lyria assured her friends.
They arrived then, and the conversation had to be put on hold.
"So. When are you going to ask her?" James asked Remus. The Yule Ball was getting closer.
"I can't just walk up to her and be like 'Oh, hey, I've had a crush on you for three years, want to go to the Yule Ball?'!" Remus started speaking quietly, but by the end he was rather shouting. As people in the common room turned to stare and Remus realized he was talking to James, he turned bright red.
This caused Lyria, who was sitting in the corner doing homework and waiting for Lyndell, to begin laughing hysterically.
Sirius entered from his usual detention, and Remus immediately pounced on him. "Are you going to the Yule Ball?"
"Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me," Sirius replied. He strolled over to Lyria. "Hey, Lyri!"
"What?" She looked up from her parchment.
"Want to go to the Yule Ball?"
"Why are you asking me?" She looked at him slightly suspiciously.
"Just in the interest of spending time with a good friend," he replied with a grin.
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to behave yourself?!?"
"Of course!" Sirius yelped indignantly.
"Sure, then." Lyria went back to her homework.
Sirius turned back to his friends. James was laughing, while Peter and Remus stared open-mouthed.
"What?" Sirius asked curiously.
"How... how... HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" Remus cried.
"Remus hasn't got the nerve to ask Lyndell to go with him," James explained. Remus shot him a glare.
"I'll ask her for you, if you want," Sirius offered.
Knowing Sirius, Remus decided that probably wasn't wise. "No, I can do it." He walked over to where Lyndell was now talking with Lyria.
The other three were staring over the back of the couch, watching their friend's progress. "Moony's never going to do it," James declared.
"Think he'll pass out before he gets over there?" Sirius asked.
"I-I hope not!" Peter squeaked.
"No, he's talking to her..." James reported, then, "She said yes!" He declared triumphantly.
Remus jumped at least a foot and a half at the loud, triumphant cheering from the other side of the couch. He returned to the group looking furious.
"So... how'd it go?" Sirius asked innocently.
The Yule Ball was not the only thing that was approaching quickly. In preparation for the next full moon, the group that called themselves the Mauraders had slipped out of Gryffindor Tower and into an unused classroom at about 1:30 AM that morning.
"Ready?" Sirius asked excitedly.
"Yeah. Are you *sure* you can handle it, Peter?" James asked.
"Of c-course!" Peter replied, looking nervous.
The three chanted the spell at once, and Remus laughed. "It worked!" Instead of facing his three friends, he was facing a greasy-looking gray rat, a white stag, and a giant black dog.
There was a pop, and the stag turned into James. "We really pulled it off!"
Sirius ran around the room, seeming to enjoy his dog form—until a paw landed on something sharp. He yelped and transformed back. "Bloody padded feet!" He cried, holding one hand.
"Padfoot!" James laughed. "You suggested nicknames anyway."
"Then you're Prongs, with those antlers of yours," Remus told James.
"I started calling you Moony two years ago, Remus," Sirius added.
A squeak came from the floor. James and Sirius helped Peter transform. "Can I be Wormtail?" He asked immediately.
"Whatever makes you happy," James replied.
The long-awaited day (at least for the girls at Hogwarts!) had finally arrived. Lily hurriedly pulled on her green dress robes. Lyria, meanwhile, was fighting with a hairclip that simply refused to stay in.
"Two words: Not Happening," the mirror told Lyria.
Lyri scowled. "Thanks for telling me the obvious!!"
Lyndell, who was already dressed and ready out of nervousness, assisted Lyri with a charm that helped a great deal.
After a bit more work, Lily turned around. "Everyone ready?"
"We look good," Lyndell decided.
"Good enough," Lyri said, after a last look in the mirror. "I'm only going with Sirius."
With that, the three headed off.
At the same time, the Mauraders were getting ready.
Sirius, as usual, was being a smartmouth. "Do I look fat in this?" He whined in a passable imitation of Casilda Strider... of course, he'd *never* have tried that in front of Lyria.
"You look lovely tonight, Padfoot," James joked.
"Uh-oh, b-better tell L-lily to keep an eye on you!" Peter laughed.
James and Sirius looked at each other as if considering this and then burst out into hysterics.
Outside the window, it was dusk.
"Remus, are you ready?" James asked the fourth member of the group.
"Yeah, I'm just finishing this up for Astronomy..." Remus replied, then, "Oh, no."
"W-what?" Peter asked.
Sirius looked over Remus' shoulder. "Tonight's a full moon," he said quietly. Then he looked at his friend. "Moony?"
Remus growled.
Without a second thought, the others grabbed him and dragged him out of the tower.
Lyria was getting very impatient very quickly. "Where *are* they?"
"Maybe something's wrong?" Lily suggested.
"If they don't hurry it up, something *will* be wrong!" Lyndell threatened.
Lyria privately agreed, but said nothing. Then she spotted Frank Longbottom on his way down the stairs. "Frank! Are those four dipwits still up there?"
"No, they left a while ago," he replied.
Lyria glanced at her friends. "Thanks, Frank."
As soon as he left, Lily began to cry, while Lyndell turned bright red with fury.
"I'll kill him!" Lyndell declared, while Lily wailed, "Something *must* have happened. He'd never just do this for no reason!"
The Mauraders didn't have time to worry about the three girls left in the tower. They had a werewolf to contend with.
Remus had transformed totally, and he was a full-fledged monster. The others had quickly transfigured themselves and were trying to herd Remus down to the Shrieking Shack with little success.
James heard Sirius yelp as Remus scratched him. Peter squeaked and scrambled away.
Finally, finally, they managed to chase their uncontrollable friend down to safety—though whether for him or everyone else, none of them were sure.
"All c-clear!" Peter whispered. James slid into the common room, followed by Sirius and Remus. Remus was still apologizing for having scratched Sirius.
"I'm fine!" Sirius insisted. "Nothing a healing potion can't fix, and Lyria can make that, if I can't. Now let's get upstairs before we're attacked by furious girls!"
"Wouldn't *that* have worked out nicely?" The sound of Lyndell Greenleaf's voice startled them all, but the color drained completely from Remus' face.
Peter took the opportunity to scurry up the stairs.
"Lyndell, don't be upset...." Remus began.
The blonde exploded. "UPSET?!? You stood me up, you arrogant git! And to think I thought I loved you, Remus Lupin!"
Lyria snarled. "So much for spending time with a good friend, Black."
"You'd better have a *very* good reason," Lily demanded.
"We do," Sirius assured them, backing away from the wand Lyria had pointed between his eyes.
"We just can't tell you," James continued.
Lyndell's growl was more frightening than any that Sirius or Remus could have produced. "Well you're going to tell us. Now."
"I don't see how it's any of your business—" Sirius began, but Remus cut him off.
"Thanks, Padfoot, but she'll figure it out anyway if you give her a month or two." Remus turned to Lyndell. "I... I'm a werewolf."
"And I'm an elf." She replied.
"I'm serious!" He snapped.
"No, that's him," James pointed.
"And we *don't* need more than one," Lyria put in.
Sirius glared at them all.
Lily sighed. "I think this is all going to take some explaining. We'd better sit."
The group talked through breakfast. Luckily, it was the Christmas holiday and they didn't have any classes. Once they'd caught up on the information, they seemed to split into couples, and Lyria sat fornlornly by herself.
"I'm getting out of here, you sick people," Sirius announced. "Hey Lyria, you want to come?"
The two walked down to the lake. Sirius sat on the ground and tossed stones into the water, while Lyria sat on a huge rock.
"So," Lyri broke the silence, "You can turn into a giant black dog."
"Yep," he replied. "The guys call me Padfoot."
"Padfoot. I kind of like that," she smiled. "But... can I call you Snuffles??"
"No!" Sirius yelped, transforming into dog form and growling at her.
She laughed again and scratched behind his ear.
He transferred back with a cry of "Get off! That tickles!" When she continued, he pulled her off the rock and tickled her mercilessly.
The others found them down there, still tickling each other, about half an hour before lunch.
"You'd better owl me, you hear?" Lyndell was ordering Remus as they all stepped off the train. James and Lily had found someplace quiet to say goodbye.
Lyria grabbed her trolley.
"Come *on!* already!" Casilda yelled at her sister.
Lyri smiled sweetly. "I'm coming!" She began to push the trolley even slower.
Sirius laughed. "I'll owl you."
"Okay." Lyria was watching Remus and Lyndell almost wistfully, as if she were saying goodbye to someone.
Sirius brushed the thought aside. 'Remus and Lyria? No way. He's obsessed with Lyndell. Not happening.'
Casilda stared impatiently at her twin. "Hurry up! Severus and his family are moving in next door, and we're taking him home."
Lyria's jaw fell to her knees. "Severus Snape is going to live next door to us?"
"Yes," Cassi replied.
Lyria Strider could think of only one appropriate response to that. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
(Year 5 at Hogwarts)
Lyndell Greenleaf gasped. "Lyria? Is it really you?"
Lily joined in. "I'm even impressed, and I helped you pull it off."
Lyria Strider merely laughed. "Well, I couldn't have pulled off Operation Look Like A Girl without you two." It was the night before they would return to Hogwarts for their fifth year, and Lyria had asked her friends to help her look, as she put it, "more like a girl and less like my brother." And, she noticed, it seemed to have worked.
Lyndell spoke so quietly Lyria almost didn't hear her. "Your hair is shorter than mine now, even." Snape had used a severing charm on Lyndell that had cut her hair from her waist to her shoulders, and for some reason it didn't want to grow.
"Yours is pretty too, even if that idiot chopped it," Lily assured Lyndell. "I'm sure Remus likes it."
Lyndell blushed.
Lyria laughed. "You're both crazy! I mean, James is a nice guy, Lily, and it's great that you two started going out last year. And Lyndell, I'm sure if Remus ever gets the nerve to ask you out, you'll be a cute couple. But I'm still glad I really don't feel that way for anyone right now."
"Not even Sirius?" Lily teased her friend.
"Sirius Black?" Lyria stared rather stupidly at Lily.
"He's nice. And he's cute," Lily pointed out.
"He always makes you laugh," Lyndell chimed in.
"*Cute*? Are we talking about the same Sirius Black? And he doesn't make me laugh, I laugh at him. There's a difference." Lyria replied.
Lyndell and Lily just looked at each other knowingly.
Lyria gave them an annoyed glare. "Come on, you two. You can't get romantically involved with someone you shared your fingerpaints with!"
The three burst into laughter. It was good to be together again.
They were sitting in their usual compartment the next morning when they were joined by four familiar faces.
"James!" Lily cried immediately, making room for her boyfriend to sit next to her. The rest of the Gryffindors had named them the cutest couple in the house last year, and it was a source of never ending teasing from their close friends.
"Aww, how sweet!" Sirius flopped into the seat next to Lyria. She was staring out the window. He stared at her. "Umm.. do I know you?"
Lyri burst into laughter. "Oh, only the day after I was born! Who did you think it was?"
"It's just you?" Sirius sighed disappointedly.
Peter, sitting on the floor, was staring awestruck at the currently snogging James & Lily. "T-they haven't st-stopped in almost a minute!"
Remus and Lyndell were talking in a corner and trying to ignore Lily and James. Lyria had gone back to staring out the window.
Sirius, feeling rather lonely, amused himself by throwing Ever Flavor Beans at Peter.
They passed the rest of the train ride making jokes and catching up.
"I can't believe we're having a formal dance again. The Yule Ball is going to be even better this year," Lily was saying excitedly. The announcement had been made last night, and the three girls were discussing it on their way to Transfiguration.
"Well, you've got a date," Lyndell sighed sadly.
"You will too, Lyndell. You *know* Remus will ask you," Lyri replied.
Lily gave Lyria a mischievous grin. "That just leaves you dateless..."
"And *I* don't care. I'll have a good time with or without a date," Lyria assured her friends.
They arrived then, and the conversation had to be put on hold.
"So. When are you going to ask her?" James asked Remus. The Yule Ball was getting closer.
"I can't just walk up to her and be like 'Oh, hey, I've had a crush on you for three years, want to go to the Yule Ball?'!" Remus started speaking quietly, but by the end he was rather shouting. As people in the common room turned to stare and Remus realized he was talking to James, he turned bright red.
This caused Lyria, who was sitting in the corner doing homework and waiting for Lyndell, to begin laughing hysterically.
Sirius entered from his usual detention, and Remus immediately pounced on him. "Are you going to the Yule Ball?"
"Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me," Sirius replied. He strolled over to Lyria. "Hey, Lyri!"
"What?" She looked up from her parchment.
"Want to go to the Yule Ball?"
"Why are you asking me?" She looked at him slightly suspiciously.
"Just in the interest of spending time with a good friend," he replied with a grin.
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to behave yourself?!?"
"Of course!" Sirius yelped indignantly.
"Sure, then." Lyria went back to her homework.
Sirius turned back to his friends. James was laughing, while Peter and Remus stared open-mouthed.
"What?" Sirius asked curiously.
"How... how... HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" Remus cried.
"Remus hasn't got the nerve to ask Lyndell to go with him," James explained. Remus shot him a glare.
"I'll ask her for you, if you want," Sirius offered.
Knowing Sirius, Remus decided that probably wasn't wise. "No, I can do it." He walked over to where Lyndell was now talking with Lyria.
The other three were staring over the back of the couch, watching their friend's progress. "Moony's never going to do it," James declared.
"Think he'll pass out before he gets over there?" Sirius asked.
"I-I hope not!" Peter squeaked.
"No, he's talking to her..." James reported, then, "She said yes!" He declared triumphantly.
Remus jumped at least a foot and a half at the loud, triumphant cheering from the other side of the couch. He returned to the group looking furious.
"So... how'd it go?" Sirius asked innocently.
The Yule Ball was not the only thing that was approaching quickly. In preparation for the next full moon, the group that called themselves the Mauraders had slipped out of Gryffindor Tower and into an unused classroom at about 1:30 AM that morning.
"Ready?" Sirius asked excitedly.
"Yeah. Are you *sure* you can handle it, Peter?" James asked.
"Of c-course!" Peter replied, looking nervous.
The three chanted the spell at once, and Remus laughed. "It worked!" Instead of facing his three friends, he was facing a greasy-looking gray rat, a white stag, and a giant black dog.
There was a pop, and the stag turned into James. "We really pulled it off!"
Sirius ran around the room, seeming to enjoy his dog form—until a paw landed on something sharp. He yelped and transformed back. "Bloody padded feet!" He cried, holding one hand.
"Padfoot!" James laughed. "You suggested nicknames anyway."
"Then you're Prongs, with those antlers of yours," Remus told James.
"I started calling you Moony two years ago, Remus," Sirius added.
A squeak came from the floor. James and Sirius helped Peter transform. "Can I be Wormtail?" He asked immediately.
"Whatever makes you happy," James replied.
The long-awaited day (at least for the girls at Hogwarts!) had finally arrived. Lily hurriedly pulled on her green dress robes. Lyria, meanwhile, was fighting with a hairclip that simply refused to stay in.
"Two words: Not Happening," the mirror told Lyria.
Lyri scowled. "Thanks for telling me the obvious!!"
Lyndell, who was already dressed and ready out of nervousness, assisted Lyri with a charm that helped a great deal.
After a bit more work, Lily turned around. "Everyone ready?"
"We look good," Lyndell decided.
"Good enough," Lyri said, after a last look in the mirror. "I'm only going with Sirius."
With that, the three headed off.
At the same time, the Mauraders were getting ready.
Sirius, as usual, was being a smartmouth. "Do I look fat in this?" He whined in a passable imitation of Casilda Strider... of course, he'd *never* have tried that in front of Lyria.
"You look lovely tonight, Padfoot," James joked.
"Uh-oh, b-better tell L-lily to keep an eye on you!" Peter laughed.
James and Sirius looked at each other as if considering this and then burst out into hysterics.
Outside the window, it was dusk.
"Remus, are you ready?" James asked the fourth member of the group.
"Yeah, I'm just finishing this up for Astronomy..." Remus replied, then, "Oh, no."
"W-what?" Peter asked.
Sirius looked over Remus' shoulder. "Tonight's a full moon," he said quietly. Then he looked at his friend. "Moony?"
Remus growled.
Without a second thought, the others grabbed him and dragged him out of the tower.
Lyria was getting very impatient very quickly. "Where *are* they?"
"Maybe something's wrong?" Lily suggested.
"If they don't hurry it up, something *will* be wrong!" Lyndell threatened.
Lyria privately agreed, but said nothing. Then she spotted Frank Longbottom on his way down the stairs. "Frank! Are those four dipwits still up there?"
"No, they left a while ago," he replied.
Lyria glanced at her friends. "Thanks, Frank."
As soon as he left, Lily began to cry, while Lyndell turned bright red with fury.
"I'll kill him!" Lyndell declared, while Lily wailed, "Something *must* have happened. He'd never just do this for no reason!"
The Mauraders didn't have time to worry about the three girls left in the tower. They had a werewolf to contend with.
Remus had transformed totally, and he was a full-fledged monster. The others had quickly transfigured themselves and were trying to herd Remus down to the Shrieking Shack with little success.
James heard Sirius yelp as Remus scratched him. Peter squeaked and scrambled away.
Finally, finally, they managed to chase their uncontrollable friend down to safety—though whether for him or everyone else, none of them were sure.
"All c-clear!" Peter whispered. James slid into the common room, followed by Sirius and Remus. Remus was still apologizing for having scratched Sirius.
"I'm fine!" Sirius insisted. "Nothing a healing potion can't fix, and Lyria can make that, if I can't. Now let's get upstairs before we're attacked by furious girls!"
"Wouldn't *that* have worked out nicely?" The sound of Lyndell Greenleaf's voice startled them all, but the color drained completely from Remus' face.
Peter took the opportunity to scurry up the stairs.
"Lyndell, don't be upset...." Remus began.
The blonde exploded. "UPSET?!? You stood me up, you arrogant git! And to think I thought I loved you, Remus Lupin!"
Lyria snarled. "So much for spending time with a good friend, Black."
"You'd better have a *very* good reason," Lily demanded.
"We do," Sirius assured them, backing away from the wand Lyria had pointed between his eyes.
"We just can't tell you," James continued.
Lyndell's growl was more frightening than any that Sirius or Remus could have produced. "Well you're going to tell us. Now."
"I don't see how it's any of your business—" Sirius began, but Remus cut him off.
"Thanks, Padfoot, but she'll figure it out anyway if you give her a month or two." Remus turned to Lyndell. "I... I'm a werewolf."
"And I'm an elf." She replied.
"I'm serious!" He snapped.
"No, that's him," James pointed.
"And we *don't* need more than one," Lyria put in.
Sirius glared at them all.
Lily sighed. "I think this is all going to take some explaining. We'd better sit."
The group talked through breakfast. Luckily, it was the Christmas holiday and they didn't have any classes. Once they'd caught up on the information, they seemed to split into couples, and Lyria sat fornlornly by herself.
"I'm getting out of here, you sick people," Sirius announced. "Hey Lyria, you want to come?"
The two walked down to the lake. Sirius sat on the ground and tossed stones into the water, while Lyria sat on a huge rock.
"So," Lyri broke the silence, "You can turn into a giant black dog."
"Yep," he replied. "The guys call me Padfoot."
"Padfoot. I kind of like that," she smiled. "But... can I call you Snuffles??"
"No!" Sirius yelped, transforming into dog form and growling at her.
She laughed again and scratched behind his ear.
He transferred back with a cry of "Get off! That tickles!" When she continued, he pulled her off the rock and tickled her mercilessly.
The others found them down there, still tickling each other, about half an hour before lunch.
"You'd better owl me, you hear?" Lyndell was ordering Remus as they all stepped off the train. James and Lily had found someplace quiet to say goodbye.
Lyria grabbed her trolley.
"Come *on!* already!" Casilda yelled at her sister.
Lyri smiled sweetly. "I'm coming!" She began to push the trolley even slower.
Sirius laughed. "I'll owl you."
"Okay." Lyria was watching Remus and Lyndell almost wistfully, as if she were saying goodbye to someone.
Sirius brushed the thought aside. 'Remus and Lyria? No way. He's obsessed with Lyndell. Not happening.'
Casilda stared impatiently at her twin. "Hurry up! Severus and his family are moving in next door, and we're taking him home."
Lyria's jaw fell to her knees. "Severus Snape is going to live next door to us?"
"Yes," Cassi replied.
Lyria Strider could think of only one appropriate response to that. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"