AN: Hi! Still alive, thanks. I've actually had this chapter done since I posted the first one, but I decided to leave a little suspense, haha. I've been working on the other chapter too, but I don't know how it'll turn out considering I'm definitely stressed nowadays. Anyways, here it is, and I hope you like it. Love it. Adore it. You know the drill.
Disclaimer: Only the plot and the OC's are mine, silly.
Chapter Two: The Mission
Victoria's eyes were shut firmly. Her mind was revolving around fields filled with blue cows and blue tulips, but her dorm mates obviously had different plans for her.
"I just–" one of the girls sobbed. "I don't understand! I t–thought...I thought we were happy!"
"Shh," another girl consoled. "He doesn't know what he's giving up. You'll find someone better."
"But that's the thing! There is no one better!" The girl now sounded practically near hysteria now, and Victoria groaned loudly, rolling over.
"That's all well and grand," she said, not even opening her eyes, "but could you save it until after five in the morning?"
"Shut up, Victoria! It's seven thirty in the bloody morning!" Okay. No more near hysteria. She was full on screeching now.
"Chill out, Amy," Victoria heard Julia say.
"No, I won't chill out! He probably dumped me for her! He only broke up with me after...after their stupid detention together!"
Now, Victoria really did open her eyes. "Sirius Black?" she asked, rolling over to be met with Amy Sullivan sitting on her bed, looking a mess, while her best friend, Kelly Andrews, sat on the floor, looking slightly scared but still trying to help her.
"See!" Amy yelled. "She knows his name..."
"Don't let it bother you," Kelly told her friend. "Sirius has better taste than the likes of her."
"Oy!" Victoria yelled, but Amy yelled louder.
"Don't even lie, she's bloody gorgeous, the s–stupid cow!"
Ah, Victoria thought, nothing like a little ego boost first thing in the morning. She stood, stretching her arms above her head and further ignoring whatever else was happening with her dorm mates, before grabbing a set of school robes and heading towards the shower.
Once she was out and dressed, she walked back into her dorm. The only person that was left was Julia, who sat on her bed in waiting.
"'Bout time," Julia complained. "I was about to leave you."
Victoria smirked before thrusting out her hip and snapping her fingers at her best friend, jumping on one foot. "You wouldn't. I'm bloody gorgeous." She lost her footing and fell back on her butt, but she was still smiling.
Julia's face came into view. "You stupid cow," she recited.
Victoria shrugged. "I can live with that," she said, holding out her hands to get Julia to help her up.
They both grabbed their bags and headed out of their dorm, arms linked as they skipped. When they reached the doors to the Entrance Hall, they abruptly dropped their arms, spreading their skirts out like nothing happened. They turned towards each other.
"Yeah, you're okay."
"You too."
"Well, of course I am." They entered the Great Hall. "I'm bloody gorgeous." Again, she slipped and fell.
"So do you think that phrase is cursed for you or something?" she heard Julia asked.
Victoria groaned. "Just help me up." Julia's arm came and latched onto Victoria's forearm, helping her up. They continued on as if nothing had happened, though people in seats near to where she had fallen gave them weird looks.
When Victoria saw a head of sleek black hair, she pulled Julia over.
"What are we doing?" Julia asked.
"Just wait," Victoria replied, her eyes set on a group of boys. When Julia followed her gaze, she gave a small screech, struggling to keep her distance between the boys and herself.
"The Marauders? That's where we're going?"
"Yup."
"Nu-uh, no way. 'Member that time in fourth year when they–"
"Nu-uh."
"Or in sixth year, when–"
"Nope." They reached their destination, Julia still mumbling under her breath angrily, but Victoria easily plopped herself down in the seat on Sirius Black's right. He turned toward her, obviously startled, but she ignored it.
"I'm bloody gorgeous," she said, testing it out. When she did not fall, she turned her head back towards Julia. "Ha!" she cried victoriously. "Not cursed. I win." She stuck her tongue out childishly as Julia stared back at her, almost in awe.
"Uh..." Sirius said, drawing Victoria's attention back to him.
"Hello," she greeted cheerfully, looking around at the three boys who all looked at her as if she was an alien. She heard Amy start to cry from the other end of the hall and three sets of eyes all swivelled in the direction of her cries, so Victoria figured she should cut down to the business. "Yeah, hear that?" she asked. "That's what I had to wake up to this morning. So, do me a favor?" she asked, looking straight at Sirius.
"He's even talking to her..." Another wail came. "That stupid cow!"
"Don't break any more of the girls' in my dorms' hearts, okay? It's a headache. Oh, and hey–" she turned back towards Julia. "How come you knew who they were but I didn't?"
Julia's cheeks burned as she looked over at the Marauders. Her cheeks became even more red as she scrambled for an excuse. "She's crazy. Senile, really, I don't know what's going on in that head of hers!" She gave a nervous laugh. "Ah ha! A-ha...ha...ha...?" She cleared her throat, looking away. "Right..."
"Well, we're off," Victoria said, giving her friend a strange look. Her eyes landed on something on Sirius' plate that made her squeal. "Ooh, look, mustard!" She swiped her finger across the mound of mustard before licking it off. "Ta-ta!" She stood, walking away with her finger in her mouth and Julia trailing after her after giving the Marauders an awkward wave, who were still in their daze.
"Hey!" Sirius yelled once he realized what had happened. "That was my mustard!"
XXX
"It was in 1836 when the third Goblin War of that century occurred. The goblins all..." Professor Binns droned on, not paying any attention to the students who were drooling over the parchment that lay on their desks. His dull blue eyes were fixed on the wall opposite him, and he floated over just one spot.
"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," Victoria said, sighing. Her face was balanced in her hand, squishing her cheek, and periodically her eyes would close only to open a few minutes later. The rest of the students had no problem sleeping through Binns' lecture, and regularly, neither did she, but today she just wasn't in the mood for her regular nap.
"Shut up, Tory," Julia muttered from beside Victoria, her face practically one with the desk under her, drool forming a small puddle on the surface.
"I'm just bored," Victoria explained.
Julia turned her head, letting her ponytail fall into the puddle, but Victoria only grimaced. "Then go to sleep," Julia suggested gruffly, before falling back asleep again.
"But I don't wanna," Victoria whined to herself, before sighing once more. She was the only student still awake, and the boredom was starting to get to her. Sighing for a third time, her eyes developed a spark of mischief. She grabbed the parchment that she had been doodling on seconds before, before crumpling it up. She looked back to check if it would be coming from the right direction before chucking it with all her might at Binns' stomach.
It fell a foot short.
She let out a huff of impatience. "Come on," she muttered. "I'm not that weak."
It seemed, however, that she was. She grabbed more and more parchment out of her bag, but all ten of her tries fell before coming in contact with the ghost.
"You've got to be kidding me!" She stood, a ball of parchment in hand, before taking a few steps closer to her professor. He didn't take notice.
She smiled as her ball of parchment flew right through the ghost's chest. Although Binns was not perceptive, it was impossible not to notice a ball of paper going through you, and his eyes turned to the class.
"Who did that?" he demanded, looking at all the sleeping faces before landing on Victoria, who was still standing a few feet from her seat. "Well?" he asked her.
"Oh, I was just getting my quill," she explained, pulling her lip balm out of her pocket and waving it in the air, pretending it was a quill. "But I, er...got it."
"Who threw it?"
"Oh, that was Black," she told him. "Sirius Black, to be precise. He's a Gryffindor, Seventh Year, black hair, gray eyes, sits in the third row by the window. He did it."
"Mr Black!"
James and Remus's heads lifted up at the sound of their friends name, almost as one, even though they weren't the ones being addressed. Seeing Professor Binns staring directly at Sirius, James nudged him in the ribs. Sirius's head shot up, drool trailing from the desk to his mouth before he wiped it away, blinking his eyes wearily and looking around, a few clumps of hair out of place on his usually neat head of hair. "Huh?" he mumbled unintelligently.
"You will serve detention with me at eight tonight," Binns informed him.
Sirius's face adopted a small, confused frown. "Wha...?"
"Detention, Mr Black."
"But... I was asleep, Professor."
"Another day's detention for sleeping in my class!"
"But what's the first one for?"
Binns eyes narrowed as he whispered, "You know what you did."
Victoria, who had all the while still been standing, promptly burst into fits of giggles. Binns took no notice, but the Marauders all looked at her curiously as her face started turning red and she had to hold onto her desk to keep balance.
"Oh, this is just too good," she managed through her laughter, and again at one, the Marauders cocked an eyebrow at her. Her hand slipped from its placement on the desk and she fell over on her butt.
Still, Binns did not pay her any attention.
"Um, Professor," Sirius said, motioning towards Victoria.
"Another detention, Black," Binns told him fiercely, causing Victoria to pound her hands and feet against the hard floor in sheer amusement, before Binns' eyes went back to the wall, and he continued his lecture. She carried on laughing before Julia woke up and looked at her best friend blearily.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Julia asked her, leaning over Victoria's chair.
"L–laughing," Victoria gasped, hugging her knees.
"Why?"
"I threw a paper ball at Binns and–and blamed S–Sirius, and he got three–three nights worth of detention!"
Julia didn't do anything except roll her eyes and let her head fall back on her desk, and eventually, Victorias laughter stopped. She didn't feel the need to get off the floor, so for the rest of the period, she was spread-eagle over the stones, making shapes out of the shadows on the ceiling. When the bell rang, everyone's head snapped up and they gathered their things sluggishly, making their way out of the class. Victoria took her time getting up off the floor, shoving stray parchment into her bag, and making her way out of the classroom door, Julia walking slowly behind her, her hand over her mouth in a yawn.
The second she was outside of the classroom, a hand caught her arm in a vicelike grip, pulling her away from the clutter of students and into a small alcove that went unseen by the public eye. Julia headed on without her, not taking any notice of her best friends disappearance, and Victoria opened her mouth, warning, "I'm going to scream in three seconds. One...two..."
"Oh, shut up," said a disgruntled voice.
"Three," she siad anyways, before letting out an incredibly loud, high scream.
A hand clamped over her mouth in a second, and furious gray eyes came into her line of view.
Oh. It was only Sirius.
"Could you not?" he snapped quietly.
She shrugged before sticking her tongue out and licking his hand, which he immediately drew back with a disgusted, "Ew, what was that for?"
"You shouldn't have put your hand over my mouth."
"You shouldn't have screamed."
"You shouldn't have pulled me into an alcove."
"You shouldn't have gotten me in trouble."
"You should have been so–hey wait, who said I got you in trouble?"
Sirius sighed, giving her a malicious glare before digging his hands in his pockets and leaning against the wall, rolling his eyes. "You were the only one awake when I got in trouble, not to mention you were standing and then you started cackling evilly when I got detention."
A sly smirk made its way onto her face. "Well, I am rather talented you know..." She brushed nonexistent dust from her shoulders.
"No you're not," he said bluntly. "Any other teacher would have noticed you."
"You don't have to rain on my parade," she told him. "And ugh, could you be any closer?" She put her hands on his chest, which was mere centimeters from her own, and trying to shove him back.
"As a matter of fact," he said, making to take a step forward, but she pushed him back again.
"Yeah, alright," she said. "Did this whole conversation have a point?"
"What'd you do to get me in trouble?"
"I didn't–"
"Victoria," he warned, and she winced. She had never been good at lying, especially when one was close enough to practically smell the sweat that she knew would be dripping from her hands if she tried it anymore.
"Well, you see, what happened was..." she said, bidding her time.
"And don't lie," Sirius hastened, and words were falling from her lips in seconds.
"I threw a paper ball through Binns," she blurted, before clamping a hand over her mouth.
She vaguely heard a bell ringing in the background, but she was too busy cursing herself in her head to take real notice.
His head turned to the side, calculating. "Why?"
"I was bored," she whined. "I can't be held accountable for the actions I may or may not do while bored."
"Then why'd you blame it on me?"
"Easiest target. Besides, I had to get you back for that time you dyed my hair."
"In second year?"
"Yes," Victoria stressed. "And now that we've clarified that, you've made us late for class. Good going, buck-o."
He rolled his eyes, grabbing her hand, and submerged into the wall , pulling her in with him.
"Oh, my God!" she gasped once they were done walking through the wall. "What the bloody hell–?"
"Secret," Sirius answered easily, still leading her. She took in her surroundings, noticing that they were on the fourth floor, where their next class was.
"Weren't–weren't we just on the sixth floor?" she asked.
"Good observation," he said wryly, turning a corner. The door to the Transfiguration room was just steps away from them, and before she could ask him what they were going to say as an excuse for their tardiness, he threw open the door, dropping her hand.
All noise stopped once they entered, eyes focusing in on them.
"Late again, Ms Simmons?" McGonagall asked, not even turning around from the board.
"I–" Victoria tried.
"And you as well, Mr Black," she continued. "Might I inquire as to why?"
Victoria opened her mouth to explain, but Sirius beat her to the punch. "Ms Simmons here thought it wise to ravish me in the middle of the corridor when I was making my way to class, Professor."
Victoria squeaked. "What did you just say?"
"No use denying it," Sirius told her, before taking his seat next to James Potter, propping his feet on his desk. "Everyone knows now."
She stood stationary, her mouth wide open at Sirius's audacity. The laughter of the class was loud in her ears as her cheeks turned red, giving Sirius a fierce glare before slipping into her seat next to Julia.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for tardiness," McGonagall announced, before continuing with what she'd been saying before Sirius and Victoria had barged in.
"Did you really ravish Sirius in the hall?" Julia muttered out of the side of her mouth.
"No," Victoria whispered hotly, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning back against her chair in a huff.
It was only seconds before a piece of parchment made its way onto her desk. It said simply, Payback's a bitch.
She scowled, glaring down at the parchment, her face growing increasingly hot. She huffed again, throwing a dirty look at Sirius before turning back around.
He had another thing coming if he didn't think she'd retaliate.
A smirk slowly made its way onto her face as the wheels in her head turned, a plan forming as if on its own. This would work. Though, she might get in a little trouble for it herself...
The thought didn't even fully register in her brain before she performed a spell under her desk and whipped around to look at Sirius.
"Oh, Siri!" she called over, ignoring McGonagall's loud protest to her yelling during a teachers speech. Sirius looked at her in detached amusement before she said, "I forgot to give these back to you after you showed them to me!"
She threw a bottle across the room towards him, making sure that it didn't land anywhere near him. A student close by picked up the bottle, hearing the rattle of pills inside, and read out loud in a humor-filled voice, "Enhancement Pills?"
Victoria could hear McGonagall choking in the front of the classroom as the rest of it erupting into laughter and jeers towards the prankster who had just been beaten at his own game. Sirius' usually pale face was now bright red, his eyes small slits and shooting daggers at Victoria.
"Ms Simmons!" McGonagall screeched.
Victoria turned to her with an innocent look in her eyes. "Yes, Professor?" she asked.
"That was completely unacceptable–"
'I was just giving him back his property," Victoria continued, and more laughter ensued.
"Detention, Ms Simmons. Again. Eight o'clock."
The smug smile that had erupted on her face stayed put for the rest of the class period. Once the bell rang, she happily skipped out of the room, Julia next to her babbling about what Victoria had just done, but Victoria paid her no mind. She was too happy with her hard work to listen to anything her best friend had to say.
The next class she had was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and though she knew that Sirius was planning his revenge and bidding his time, she knew that he wouldn't try anything in this class. Their professor was the take-no-shit kind of professor, and even the great Sirius Black didn't dare try anything in this class, whether it was because he respected Professor Gregory or he was scared of him, Victoria couldn't tell, but she knew this was her Get Out of Jail Free card. She accepted it happily.
Entering the DADA classroom was always a task in its own, as Gregory always tried to test their abilities by making it hard to enter the classroom, and once they did enter, the desks were always in a different arrangement. He was by far the best professor they had had for DADA thus far. However, when the class reached the door, there was nothing awaiting them. The door opened easily, allowing the students to pass. Confused murmurs cut through the eerie silence of the classroom, and Victoria gave Julia a confused look before taking a seat, awaiting the arrival of her professor.
It wasn't long before he entered the classroom, shutting the door behind him with a loud bang. His robes blew out from behind him, and he easily attained everyone's eyes.
"You've surely noticed the lack of wards on the doors today. That is because we have an important topic to discuss," he said, turning around and leaning against his desk, his young, handsome features serious. His blue eyes scanned over the class. "The survey I gave out at the beginning of the year told me that about seventy percent of this class is interested in a career as an Auror. You're probably expecting a good luck," he continued, shaking his head. "But you won't get one from me. What you will get is a wake up call. You aren't ready to fight. Not in the slightest bit."
Victoria could see the offended look cross half of the class's features, and Gregory gave a small smirk.
"Which is why Dumbledore and I have come up with a sort of mission, if you will. Tomorrow, you all will be excused from your classes. You will meet in the Great Hall at five in the morning sharp, and we'll be taking the carriages to town close to here. A town called Cogsworth. It is a small town, and during the day you will be followed by some Auror trainees. Keep in mind that Cogsworth is a Muggle town, and you are not permitted to use magic in the presence of a Muggle, so if you're going to attack someone who's following you, make absolutely certain it's a trainee. Your objective is to get to the church by two. It's not hard to locate; you can see it from any point of the town. If you're not back by two, you will fail this mission, and the trainees will bring you back to Hogwarts...eventually. Got any questions?"
Nearly every hand went into the air.
Gregory nodded. "Mr Worth."
Finn put his hand down, his eyes bright at the prospect of a mission. "You said we'll be leaving at five and we have to get to the church by two. When will we actually get to Cogsworth?"
"Around eight."
Finn nodded, looking thoughtful.
"How many of them will there be?" a Hufflepuff asked.
"One for each of you," Gregory explained. "You'll be in pairs of two. You may pick them seeing as this is your mission and I will not be responsible if you and your partner cannot cooperate."
Victoria made eye contact with Julia and she nodded. Without words, they knew that they'd be partners tomorrow.
"What should we wear?" asked an especially conceited Ravenclaw.
A few people snorted, but Gregory lifted his hands. "That is surprisingly a good question. You'll want to blend in with the Muggles and not stand out to those who are supposed to be following you, so you probably shouldn't wear any robes or wizarding clothing."
The questioning went on for the rest of the period. Victoria's head was spinning as a feeling of dread, excitement, and nervousness filled her stomach. It didn't seem to hard to her, but then again, they had the upper hand–they were, after all, trained more than they were. Still, she knew that tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.