Note From the Cook: Hope you liked the last chapter. Thanks to you reviewers, though there weren't many of you. I haven't been able to sleep at all lately, so I've been doing loads of writing, which is why I keep updating so quickly. But if I don't get more reviews I won't continue, just because not that many people are reading.
Origins of the Recipe: all ideas, usages, concepts, etc. belong to the Master chef herself, J.K. Rowling. I'm a cheap rip off who doesn't get paid. Such is life.
Recap of Last Time: Lily travels on the Hogwarts Express, discovers that James is the reluctant Head Boy, and converses with her friends (Alice, Lexi, and Eden- who are more than they appear, and WON'T become Mary-Sues). Just before they train should arrive at school, it breaks down. The lights go out, and we pick up this chapter with the girls in the dark.
One last N/C: Minor language in this chapter... well... minor to medium... because these guys are seventeen-year-olds. What do you expect? Please review!
Chapter 3: The Serpent and the Skull"Courage is fear that has said its prayers." -Dorothy Bernard
Sounds of panic began to fill the air from the other compartments, but for the time being, there were no more jolts, and the compartment remained still. It was entirely dark, except for the light of the half moon, which shimmered through the window.
"What's going on?" Alice whispered, after a moment. There seemed something immoral about talking in a normal tone right now.
"I dunno," replied the other three in unison (except that Lexi said "We dunno). Lily felt around in the dark for her wand, which she located in her uniform pocket and pulled out. "Lumos," she murmured, and the tip of the wand was suddenly alight. Lexi and Alice followed the suit, but Eden was now standing on the seat, trying to fix the light fixture on the ceiling.
"The problem with broken lights," she muttered irritably, "is that you can't fix them when they're broken, because it's always too dark." Lexi picked up the trunk that had fallen to the ground, and with Lily's help, managed to get it onto the overhead rack again.
"C'mon," said Alice, "we should go see what's going on." Eden hopped off the seat, but unfortunately landed on Lexi's foot, which caused both girls to swear violently, and Alice to give them both a disapproving look, which they couldn't see, but could feel. The four girls exited the compartment, and found the outer corridor noisy and chaotic.
"What's going on?"
"Why won't the lights work?"
"Is the train broken?"
"Ouch! Who stepped on my foot?"
Complaints and fearful interjections sounded loudly throughout the car, but Lily tried to block them out of her head with the single objective of getting to the first car. It seemed that everyone important would be on the first car: the Head Boy, the Ministry of Magic workers, and the conductor...
"I'm going to the first car to see Korcesh- that guy from the Ministry of Magic who came by the compartments earlier," Lily muttered to Alice and Eden; Lexi had disappeared.
"Alice, you help me calm people down," Eden said urgently to the other friend. Alice presumably agreed, because both girls made their way towards a group of eleven-year-old girls who were in tears.
Lily headed in the opposite direction, and with great difficulty made it to the door that led to the first car. But it wouldn't open. She pulled hard on it, for she was reluctant to put out the light on her wand and use magic to open it. She grasped the knob and twisted, pulling it with all her strength. Just then, however, a delayed jolt shook the whole car and threw Lily backwards onto Eddie Bones, who, by some coincidence, was standing a few feet behind her.
Many people screamed, but Lily was not one of them. Eddie helped her off of him. "Are you okay?" Lily asked, hoping she hadn't been the result of any broken limbs on her friend.
"I'm fine; you?" asked Eddie sympathetically.
"Been better," groaned Lily, getting to her feet, and helping her companion up.
"Sorry about the thing earlier in the fireplace," Eddie added nervously.
Lily rolled her eyes at the idea that he would be worrying about a matter like that at a moment like this. "It's fine," she said. "Do you have any idea what's...?"
But she never had to finish the sentence. The door to the first car a few feet away suddenly flew open. However, it didn't just fly open, it flew completely off the hinges, and Lily had to fall to the ground to avoid getting hit by it as it swept past. Eddie, who stood next to her in the narrow corridor, was on the ground in the same moment, but judging by the yells, Lily could tell that someone else wasn't so lucky.
Her eyes, however, were on the dark doorway. It was very dark, and Lily now noticed this more acutely. The only light was provided by a few lit wands (Lily's had gone out moments before), and, of course, by the faint moonlight. But no matter how dark it was in the corridor, Lily could still make out the movement of figures in the doorway to the first car. They were all black, so at first they were invisible, but soon their darkness exceeded that of the space around them.
They were men, for they were taller and thicker than any woman Lily could ever remember seeing. Each was clothed in long robes of black, complete with hood and cloak. The hood hid their faces from sight, but the sound of heavy breathing came from under them. Lily stared, pale faced, at them as they stepped closer and closer. At first she could only see three of the menacing figures, but she quickly perceived that there were more behind them.
Presently, the foremost figure spoke.
"We are servants of the Dark Lord," he hissed, "Surrender, or be killed."
Deadly silence. Everyone in the corridor seemed to be holding his or her breadth.
Lily's expression hardened, as she stared up from the floor at the Death Eaters, for that is who they were. She grasped tightly at the wand already in hand and slowly lifted it over her head, but the Death Eater, still in the middle of his speech, didn't seem to notice.
"Receda!" she shouted, and the foremost Death Eater flew against the corridor wall. Another of the invaders immediately sent a hex towards Lily, but she rolled out of the way (nearly crushing Eddie) and from somewhere far back a fellow student sent a stunning spell towards the attacker.
And all hell broke loose.
Several death eaters sent hexes back towards the students, but the students (the older ones at least) seemed to get the same idea simultaneously. Eddie shoved Lily off of him and made a dive for the closest Death Eater's feet. Yet as he knocked the death eater down, one of the others sent a spell of some variety towards Eddie (still on the ground), which hit the seventh year student directly in the back.
Lily screamed and hurled a stunning spell in the general direction of the assailant, but she didn't look to see if she hit him. Instead, she crawled to the spot where Eddie had fallen, avoiding getting hit by spells or feet. She leaned close to her friend's chest to see if there was a heartbeat; there was. She exhaled deeply, then (dodging a bolt of red light) tried to pull Eddie from the corridor and into the nearest open compartment. It was with great difficulty, for Edgar Bones was much heavier than he appeared at first sight. In fact, he was rather skinny, and not extremely tall either.
Yet Lily managed to pull him into an empty compartment, and though she was positive the spot wouldn't remain safe for long, she didn't see what else could be done with the unconscious friend. Ducking out of the compartment, Lily now had a quick decision to make. Defend the second car; warn the other cars (were they under attack too?); or move into the lion's den- the first car...
Those of Gryffindor house are supposed to posses an inclination towards a certain bravery, but Lily had never seen much courage in herself. Even now, as she shot a hex towards a death eater and pushed her way towards the first car, where there were certainly many more death eaters, she didn't think herself very brave. She certainly saw herself as many other noble enough things, but courageous was not one of them.
Lily made it to the door, which was no longer unattainable (the death eaters had spread about the car quickly), and hopped to the first car, where the conditions were very much the same, except there was more space, due to the wider corridor. The girl's thoughts were in a buzz: what purpose was there in attacking the Hogwarts Express? How had the Ministry known? Where was Korcesh? Where was Potter?
"Pellete!" Lily shouted, hitting one of the many cloaked menaces, who had been about to attack a younger student.
"Stupefy!" shouted a familiar voice from behind Lily a moment later, and she had to duck to avoid being hit. The familiarity of the voice caused Lily to turn and see a short, round figure hurrying towards her.
"Damn! I'm sorry," he cried, terrified. Lily peered hard at the boy, and recognized, through the dark, the face of Peter Pettigrew. It was not a particularly handsome face, but it was familiar, and at the moment, it was comforting.
"It's fine!" shouted Lily, for the noise was increasing by the moment. It was already almost unbearable. "Where's Potter?"
"I don't know!" shouted a nearly trembling Peter, dodging a spell that came absolutely nowhere near him. "I lost the others ages ago, but they were on this car last time I saw them!"
Lily nodded. "Come with me!" she said loudly, and, grabbing his thick wrist, she forced him to comply. They made their way (crouching down as the hurried along) toward the front of the car. Lily had the vague idea of trying to find the conductor. But when they reached the front, it became apparent that that would be impossible, for a wall of iron (or else some other metal) was blocking the corridor from the front apartments and the exit.
"What now?" cried Peter, despairing.
"I'm not exactly sure!" Lily said loudly. She shot a stunning spell towards an approaching death eater. "Not exactly sure" was a dramatic understatement, but she couldn't let Peter know that, so she pretended to have some inkling of a plan. With the hand that held her wand (the other was still clamped on Peter Pettigrew's wrist) Lily slid open the door to the nearest compartment and pushed Peter inside, before hurling herself in as well. She slammed the door shut.
"Look!" said Peter as if he beheld some great novelty. He pointed to the cowering figure of a boy of about twelve, who sat in the corner seat, a look of terror on his face.
Lily looked at, but didn't pay much heed to, the boy. Instead, she pointed her wand at the glass window and said in as calm a voice as could be expected, "Convello Vadem!" The glass shattered (falling outside the window), leaving no remnants around the perimeter of the window. Lily hastened to look outside and was quite surprised with the sight that met her eyes.
The train had not only stopped (or been stopped) at a spot where it was quite safe to jump out the window (there was solid ground just next to the track), but also quite close to the Hogsmeade station. Apparently arrival at Hogsmeade had been imminent, for the station was visible about five yards away from the tip of the train.
"We're here!" Lily gasped, to no one in particular. "But why? Why attack the train when it's five minutes from the school... from Dumbledore? Unless they wanted that..."
Peter pulled his wrist away from Lily. "If you're talking to someone, you might want to talk above a whisper," he said; apparently Peter had picked up some of his best friends' sarcasm.
"We're here," muttered Lily distractedly.
"Well obviously we're here," Peter said irritably, "the question is: where is here?"
"We're three seconds away from the station," said Lily coolly, taking a step back from the window. She raised her wand high again and said: "Diruo quamtotius." A jet of red light shot out from the tip of Lily's wand, blasting the wall and increasing the size of the hole already present due to the empty window. Peter and the second year yelled in shock and jumped back. At least, the younger boy yelled; Peter's was really more a shriek.
Lily turned to the two and watched them expectantly. They gave her bewildered looks. "Well I didn't just make the hole there for the view," she said, shifting her weight irritably.
Peter came to his senses first, and took the younger boy by the shoulder, pulling him off the seat. "C'mon," he grunted, and he began to make his way towards the giant blast area. But Lily, true to her sex, changed her mind.
"Wait, Pete," she said, and Peter didn't like her tone. Lily looked at the second year, "Get off the train..." she said kindly, "get off and warn someone. Hagrid... you know who Hagrid is, right?... well he should be hanging around, if he's not already here. Find him and tell him what's happening, unless he's already found us here. Whatever the case, find someone and tell him what's happening..."
"What is happening?" the boy asked, frightened.
"We're under attack," replied Lily.
"But who do you want me to tell?" persisted the boy.
'I was never this annoying at twelve,' Lily thought. "A good guy," she said sardonically, "now, go!"
The twelve-year-old seemed to think this was good enough, or else he wanted to get off the train, and he hopped from the hole that Lily had blasted to the ground. Lily looked out to make sure he was safe (he was) before turning to Peter Pettigrew again.
"I-I r-r-really think I should go with him," stammered Peter.
"And I don't," said Lily, "now c'mon..." She grabbed his wrist again and, pretending not to be absolutely terrified, slid open the compartment door.
Immediately, an unconscious sixth year (a Slytherin, for what it's worth) fell on Lily; apparently he had been leaning against the shut door.
"Oh my g... Peter, will you get this guy off me?" grumbled Lily, trying to support the sixth year and almost collapsing under the weight. Peter wriggled loose of Lily's grip and pushed the Slytherin off of her. "Thanks," she muttered. Now, with courage and stupidity, Lily stepped out into corridor, and no sooner had she done so, she had to duck to avoid a jet of blue light that flew her way.
Rather than ducking every moment, Lily now simply dropped to her knees and began to crawl. "Come on!" she called back to Peter, who did so, but muttered something about "bossy know-it-alls." If Lily heard, she didn't reply.
"Where are we going?" called the bewildered and terrified Peter after a moment.
"To find Korcesh, and then to find the Head Boy," replied Lily loudly, for it was still quite noisy in the corridor.
"How are we going to do that?" Peter wanted to know.
"Um... guess, check, and revise!"
As she said this, Lily turned over an unconscious form that had fallen next to where she was crawling. Not being any person that she needed, she crawled around him. 'I can't very well do anything to help him,' she rationalized. 'I need to find someone who could help; I need to..." But she didn't finish the thought. The whole car suddenly shook, as if some earthquake was taking place. The noise level went up again.
"WHAT'S THAT?" called Peter to Lily.
"HOPEFULLY SOMETHING GOOD!" was the reply.
"IS LOTS OF SHAKING EVER GOOD?"
"Um... hopefully?"
Peter asked something else at this point, but Lily didn't listen. The violent shaking ceased, but a low, inconsistent (though continual) trembling continued. People were screaming. Loudly. Lily's head hurt.
The two seventh years came (with difficulty) to the back of the car, where the transition to the second car was. The situation seemed to be as chaotic and dangerous on the second car, and Lily was hoping to catch a glimpse of her friends, or at least some other upperclassmen.
"Do we have a plan, or are we just crawling for the exercise?" Peter asked, crawling up next to Lily as she waited for the opportune moment to jump to the next car.
She bit back the retort that had nearly spit itself out ("You could use the exercise"), and said instead: "We're going to get everyone off the train." She said it as if it was the most obvious and the simplest thing in the world, but she knew (and she hoped Peter did not) that it wasn't either.
"Sounds alright," replied Peter, for lack of anything better.
"C'mon," Lily directed, and she made the small jump from the first to the second car. Peter followed, and would have been hit by a stunning spell that came his way, if Lily hadn't pushed his head down in time.
They were crawling a moment later.
"I want to see what the situation is like on the other cars, and hopefully not get killed," Lily explained to Peter.
The two reached the back of the car a moment later, and a similar iron barrier blocked the exit off the train. "Wait a second," Lily said to Peter, an inspiration coming to her. She pointed her wand at the barrier and muttered a spell under her breadth. The bolt of yellow light that was produced hit the metal but ricocheted off and hit the ceiling.
"Well that worked well," muttered Peter. "How do you suggest we...?"
But an almighty smashing sound interrupted him, and everything shook more violently than ever. Lily looked over her shoulder to see the source of the sound, and it quickly became apparent. The wall to the right (the side that the compartments were on) had been smashed through, and a familiar voice met Lily's ears.
"Students ger off the train!" boomed the voice of Rubeus Hagrid: Hogwarts's gamekeeper. But his voice was unlike Lily had ever heard it. It was louder and angrier.
"C'mon!" Lily shouted to Peter (though she needn't have shouted).
Lily scrambled towards the spot where Hagrid had broken through the wall, but the death eaters on the train were less than willing to allow it.
"Receda!" she shouted to one who attempted to block her way. That attacker flew back and hit the wall, but was not by any means out of the game. He recovered quickly and said in a cold, harsh voice:
"Stupefy!"
Lily ducked before the red jet of light could hit her, but Peter, who stood just behind her, wasn't so lucky. The spell hit him in the shoulder, and after staggering for a moment, he passed out.
"Stupefy!" Lily shouted from the ground, and she hit the attacker. She turned to Peter Pettigrew. "Enerverate," she muttered. Peter's dull blue eyes flickered for a moment, then snapped open. Lily pulled him to his feet. "C'mon," she repeated.
A grateful Peter followed as Lily made her way towards the utterly obliterated part of the wall. Both seventh years made use of their wands as they made the never-ending six-foot walk to Rubeus Hagrid and (hopefully) to an escape.
As they came closer, they could see Hagrid's gigantic hands guiding students off the train in large scooping motions. Death Eaters were sending curses and hexes towards him, but they didn't seem to have much affect. They were bouncing off his thick-skinned hands.
Lily and Peter were as close to the exit as they could possibly get, and Lily took her chance. She grabbed Peter's thick wrist (again) and dived under Hagrid's outstretched arm, which was pulling an unconscious student off. Through some miracle, the two landed, not on the tracks, but on the grass just next to them.
They groaned in pain. Lily had slid on her chest, and Peter had done some sort of odd somersault. But this of all times was not the time to nurse their wounds, and the two got up as quickly as possible and ran with the rest of the escaping students: towards the station.
As Lily came to the part where the grass ended and the stone platform began, she noticed that she had lost Peter. Hoping he knew what he was doing (and doubting it as well) Lily continued on in the direction of the castle. Two figures were standing just in front of the station building, and both were shouting directions.
"To the boats, everyone! All students to the boats! C'mon now! Hurry it along! You haven't much time!" shouted one, a young woman's voice.
"Hurry!" shouted the other, an older woman's voice. "To the boats, everyone! You have to get to the castle! Come along! To the boats!"
Still sprinting, Lily saw that the younger woman was one of the aurors that Mr. Korcesh had brought with him, and that the older was the very familiar Professor M. McGonagall, deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, Transfiguration teacher, and the head of Lily's house. Through the dark, Lily saw an expression on Professor McGonagall's face that she had never seen there before.
But Lily looked at McGonagall's face a moment too long, for suddenly, she found herself falling. She had hit something tall, and something that felt oddly like a person. Lily was on the ground in an instant, and her ankle was searing in pain.
"Damn shoes," Lily muttered, pulling off one of the three-inch heeled school shoes that she wore. But when she looked up, she saw that there were more pressing matters at hand. Several people screamed.
A tall figure, clothed in black with a hood and cloak, stared down at Lily. At least, his face was directed at Lily, but she couldn't see the eyes. For the first time, Lily saw what was under a death eater's hood. It was a faceless mask, indescribable beyond that, except that Lily was somehow mesmerized by it. Only for a moment.
She recovered herself and groped about for her wand. She couldn't find it. A chill ran up Lily's spine, as her eyes looked up at the pausing death eater before her. He wasn't attacking. Why? He had two wands, and one was Lily's. She had dropped it when she fell.
Yet Lily, wandless and unprotected, was not unarmed. She did the only thing that seemed logical, as the death eater raised her own wand and began to say a hex of some kind. She kicked. Her foot (the one that still had a shoe on it) hit his knee and he staggered for a moment. She had time to roll out of the way as he shouted a stunning spell, though. Scrambling as best she could to get away before the death eater fully recovered, she kicked off the other shoe and tried to run for it. Too late.
"Crucio!" said the death eater, and suddenly Lily was screaming in agony. The scream was lost to the other screams that sounded on the platform, but those sounds were muted to Lily. She fell to the ground and twitched in agony as the spell's influence over her heightened.
'End it, end it!' she thought, 'McGonagall! Anyone! Help me! Where are you? God, somebody, help me!' But Lily couldn't articulate any of this. She screamed in pain.
And then it stopped.
"Expelliarmus!" echoed in Lily's head, and she knew that someone had hit the Death Eater. She opened her eyes and tried to get up off the ground, but it was difficult.
"Get up, Evans," said a voice somewhere, and a heavy hand lifted her shoulder off the ground.
"My wand," Lily uttered, gasping for air. Something warm and smooth was shoved into Lily's hand. Her wand. The hand slid from her shoulder to her wrist and began to pull her forward. Staggering and only barely able to move, Lily tried to follow, and sight began to return to her eyes. She saw a black haired head moving in front of her, and though she could not see the face, she knew who it was.
"Black?" she murmured.
"Sort of," said the undeniable voice of Sirius Black. He was a Marauder, a troublemaker, and her enemy's best friend, but Lily was grateful nonetheless.
"Did you disarm the death eater?" Lily asked, beginning to return to herself again, and picking up the pace.
"No, it was McGonagall," replied Sirius. Lily glanced over her shoulder and saw that about half a dozen death eaters had apparated to the station. Several students had fallen. 'Why did he help me?' Lily wondered, 'There were others who he could have helped...' But she didn't voice her curiosity.
The hard ground of the platform changed to the dirt path, and Lily had almost completely recovered. At least, she was now capable of running on her own, and Sirius had been able to let go of her wrist. She sprinted as fast as she could (her energy was low, however), but Sirius, who was obviously not running at his fastest, was still a fair distance in front of her. They came to the bank that led to the boats.
No boat was at the dock, and for about a minute, Lily, Sirius, and a few other students waited tensely for the boats to speed back (magically) from the opposite shore. The first boat came, but Lily and Sirius both insisted that the third years present go in first, and three fourth years and a fifth year were put into the next one. The third boat had already arrived, however, and Lily, Sirius, and the two others present took this opportunity.
It wasn't until she was in the boat that Lily noticed who was with her and Mr. Black. It was, by no great coincidence (rather by Sirius's design), James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. Lily wondered where Remus Lupin- the fourth Marauder- was, but before she voiced her curiosity, a loud splash sounded and screams filled the air more violently than before.
All four occupants of the boat turned their heads and saw, on the bank that they had just departed, the figures of death eaters. More apparated to the spot as they watched.
"Damn it," muttered James. He pointed his wand at the back of the boat and muttered a spell under his breadth. The Death Eaters, meanwhile, were making use of their own wands, as they tried to pick off the boats in the water. Several suddenly caught fire, and the students were forced to jump from the boats and swim for shore. But the boat that Lily and the three Marauders were in was safe for the time being, as they sped unnaturally towards shore.
Lily glanced over her shoulder, and could just make out a death eater raising his wand strait into the air. A jet of green light sprung from the tip and into the dark sky, illuminating everything. But the green light did not remain shapeless; it twisted and turned, and in a moment, Lily could see what it was forming: a giant skull and a serpent.
"Good God," Lily whispered; it hadn't struck her yet, but Hogwarts was under attack. By Lord Voldemort. That was his sign that the death eater had conjured. The Daily Prophet called it "The Dark Mark."
"Hurry up, hurry up," she heard Peter Pettigrew mutter under his breadth, as he glanced apprehensively over his shoulder at the death eaters from time to time. She couldn't blame him.
Then, before any of the four knew what was happening, a jet of blue light hit the tip of the boat, and as if some great force had burst up in the center of the small boat, the wood planks sprung apart, and pushed the four of them into the water.
One of the boards hit Lily in the head, leaving her dazed for a moment, but Peter's shriek as he made contact with the water, brought her to her wits. She began to swim. In what direction she wasn't entirely sure, but she knew it was away from the screaming: away from the death eaters.
The water was unsettled from the boats and from the curses that hit the water. Splashes rose up here and there, and Lily soon lost sight of her other companions. She was growing tired too, never having realized how big the lake was. Her directions were confused, her head throbbed in pain, everything else ached as well, and for a moment she considered just sinking. The water was full of students now, and everything was growing hazy.
But Lily didn't stop and sink. Instead, she caught sight of a clear figure, swimming admirably a short distance in front of her. She decided to follow the figure. Before she had a clear idea of what was happening, she felt the sandy bank beneath her feet and Lily was staggering onto the ground. Sand turned to grass and Lily pulled herself up higher up the bank. Her troubles were far from over, however, for just as she began to stop to breathe, a patch of grass quite close to her hand lit fire. Apparently the curses weren't limited to the boats and water.
Lily got to her feet and saw the figure that she had followed. It was James Potter, and he was pulling of his uniform sweater and loosening his tie. He was dripping, and it was a moment before Lily realized that so must she too be. A gust of wind reminded her how cold it was. She approached James to say something (what exactly, she had no idea), when a shout just behind her caused both Head Boy and Girl to turn.
Peter Pettigrew was grasping dramatically at the grass (though he was already well out of the water) as if on the verge of death. James rolled his eyes.
"C'mon, Pete," he said, turning and approaching the fellow Marauder, then pulling him to his feet. "We should... shit!" A spell had hit the grass right near James's foot, and he jumped back suddenly. Hexes began to rain down on the bank, and for about ten seconds, James and Peter watched them in shock. Lily rolled her eyes and grabbed both of their wrists, pulling them after her. She ran.
She ran and ran and ran, just wanting to put distance between herself and the lake, but it was a moment before she realized something. They had swum to the wrong bank. They were running, not towards Hogwarts Castle, but strait into the Forbidden Forest. She didn't care. James and Peter wriggled loose, and they sprinted into the gap amongst the trees: into the black of the Forbidden Forest...
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoONote from the cook: Lily may be a little bossy in this chapter, but don't worry. She probably won't be as annoying in future chapters. Contrary? Yes. Sarcastic? Definitely yes. But not so bossy... Please leave a review!
Luthien RhiannonCat5:
I'm glad you liked James's train of thought on Korcesh and the Ministry inspectors, because there will be a lot of that sort of thing. Lots of thinking on everybody's part, but they're not always right... (:)(:)
Samurai:
I love your name, by the way. Samurai's rock! Anyway, here's a cookie: (:;). I hope you enjoy! Also, I hope you enjoy the story, despite the long chapters. I'll try not to make them too long, but I personally have always preferred the long chapter, unless the chapter is crap, which I certainly hope mine isn't. Tear.
Married2Sirius:
Excuse me? YOU'RE married to Sirius? I don't think so, honey. LoL. Thanks for reviewing!
Next chapter: Running, breaking, losing, finding, fearing, north, south, logic, stupid, running, running, running, discovering, and spying. And who, in the name of all that is decent, is Harrighagen?