Marauder Memories:
Chapter Three: She's Not Just a Pretty Face
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Cherish set out her potions ingredients methodically, conjured up her black cauldron with ease and shoved her bag out of the way. She rolled up her sleeves and reread the recipe.
She moved to the cupboard, snagged a couple last moment ingredients and stood back. Several minutes later she had her cauldron standing up perfectly, a hot fire under it and her first few ingredients already stewing.
She glanced toward Lily's potion which was a perfect textbook translucent green. Lily was already chopping her shrivelfigs and skinning them with ease to get out the soft insides.
Cherish finished adding her own last few ingredients and stood back to let it brew for fifteen minutes. Her own potion was green, though she detected a slight sheen that hers lacked and the slightly darker green color.
She tossed her hair back, trying to appear confident, and hopeful that she had at least scraped an A.
Slughorn came around and checked off Lily's potion, beaming at her and complimenting her once again. Lily flushed scarlet, mumbling something about 'just being good at it,' when he asked for the hundredth time. He gazed at Cherish's own potion for several seconds before he checked it off with a smile to her as well.
They were dismissed and all tiredly gathering up their bags since it was the last class of the week.
"That," James declared as soon as they were out of earshot of Slughorn, "was torture."
Cherish rolled her eyes and lead the way out to the sun and warmth of the day. "You've gotten at least an A," she told him confidently. "I saw your potion. It wasn't as bad as usual."
"You're precious, Cher," he joked. "Lying to make me feel better, thanks." He turned sharply to take the stairs up to the entrance hall.
"Ja-ames," she drew out the syllables in a whine, "You're truly brilliant."
He threw her a grin, rolled his eyes and turned to Sirius who was strolling ahead of the pair past the Great Hall and out into the beautiful sun and the warm day.
Sirius looked pale white in the sun, his skin contrasting with the dark black waves and his grey eyes. He flopped down next to the large tree resting by the lake.
Cherish threw down her own bags and sat down. "It feels nice to be done for this weekend." She gazed out at the shimmering lake, the Giant Squid was drawing its tentacles out of the water skimming the surface lazily.
"What would your soul-animal be?" Cherish asked, stretching her arms out above her and then sitting up to look at the two boys stretched out beside her.
James had his eyes closed, but he still mumbled his reply half-coherantely, "A lion," he repeated when he realized she couldn't tell what he'd said.
Sirius looked like he was sleeping and shocked Cherish when he sat up from the grass to look at her. "A dog," he said, throwing her an offended look when she raised her eyebrows at him. "What, Cher? I like dogs. They're fierce, strong, loyal...confident."
Cherish looked startled. He had never called her 'Cher' before. "Fierce?" she threw her head back and laughed at him.
Sirius looked at her and then pulled a face her probably thought looked fierce-ish, his eyes narrowed as he tried to bare his teeth in a snarl like a dog.
James began to laugh. "You've got too much confidence, you dog."
Sirius whirled to look at Remus who had sat down against the tree trunk, unnoticed by any of them and looking at them over his book.
"What about you?"
Remus continued to read, sighed irritably when Sirius prodded him and he looked toward Cherish.
He looked wistful for a moment. "I'd like to be a lynx or a fox. Cunning, and a trickster...they're quiet, predators and they like to surprise their prey." Then he pounced, bowling Sirius over and smacking him in the side of the head with a swift blow.
"Lupin!" Sirius pulled his fierce face and tackled the smaller boy, cuffing him around the head as well.
"James!" Remus squealed as Sirius began to tickle his sides mercilessly, "Help me!"
James was doubled over with laughter, his shoulders shaking with mirth. Cherish laughed then helped Remus out by pushing Sirius over. Sirius lay on the grass, looking at her sitting in the grass he eyed her momentarily and then pounced on her instead. He nearly knocked her over as he pushed her flat on the ground, tickling her.
She let out a yelp and she scrambled up, then ducked to avoid one of his arms and as she did she spotted James who had leapt to his feet.
His normally warm brown eyes flickered in concern, she thought she could detect a flash of panic before he wrestled Sirius off of her, both of them hitting each other playfully.
James shook himself free, grinning and shoving Sirius. Cherish sat up and spoke quietly with Remus. The soft-spoken boy didn't talk much, often times he only nodded or shook his head.
"I've seen you in Defense, Remus. You're talented, you'll pass with flying colors," she assured him. The book he held was their Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. He looked only slightly nervous about their upcoming exams later that month.
He cast her a quick, hesitant look and then gave a short nod. "Thanks."
"Why don't you take a break from studying?" she suggested. "Just for a bit," she added when she say the uncertainty in his eyes.
He nodded, setting his book down reluctantly, and looking out at the Black Lake. Cherish looked over at James and Sirius who were now practicing their dueling skills, sending sparks at one another.
She sighed and stood up, "Come on, Remus," she held out her hand to him. "We're going to do something fun."
"What?" he asked quietly even as he took her hand and stood up. She walked away toward the rocky shore, where the grass changed into grey rocks.
"I'm going to teach you a very important skill," she paused to give him a look of sparking mischief and let the tension build. "You're going to learn how to skip rocks."
Remus threw her a look of disbelief. Then he knelt, picked up a rock and threw it. The rock plopped into the water and sank quickly. Cherish shook her head, picked up her own rock and threw it gracefully across the water. It skipped neatly three times before it vanished.
"You want a flat, skinny rock," Cherish knelt, selected a rock and handed it to him. "Like this one, it's heavy enough to throw but not too heavy that it'll just sink."
"Then stand like this," Cherish demonstrated and Remus tried to imitate her. She fixed his stance, making sure his angle was correct before standing back and nodding her approval.
"Now, fling it with a quick movement like this," she moved her arm as though she was going to throw a frisbee. "Now you try."
Over and over Remus tried, Cherish offering bits of encouragement and then he managed to skip it. It only skipped twice but it was something.
He turned to her, his eyes wide showing the depths of the soft blue, shining with a rare joy. Cherish opened her mouth to praise him when he wrapped her in a hug. Startled, but pleased she hugged him back warmly.
"Good job," she praised when he let her go. "Keep practicing and soon enough you'll be even better than me."
He laughed softly. "Never, you're too good Cherish," he smiled. His eyes turned thoughtful and he hesitated before he spoke. "I see why James favors you," he said it quietly as though fearful that they were judging him.
She only smiled and then stepped back. "You can study, if you'd like," she offered upon realizing that she'd pulled him away from his books.
He glanced back at James and Sirius who were now chasing one another around the tree. He shrugged as though unconcerned. "I rather like this, actually. Would you...stay?" He glanced toward the two rambunctious boys, his eyes fond, but he seemed to prefer her quieter nature.
Cherish smiled. "It's no trouble, really. Ready to try to get three?" she motioned toward the water.
She selected a pale gray stone, testing to see how flat it was before she held it up. At the same time he straightened up holding a black stone with the same smooth texture.
"Ready?" the two met eyes, lightly tapping the rocks together. "Now."
The pair moved together, taking up their stances and then throwing the rocks together.
Her stone skipped four times, and Remus let out a small cheer when his own skipped across the water five times. Cherish smiled joyfully. "See? You've already started to beat me."
She walked out, across the wearing wooden dock and sat down. She pulled off her shoes and socks to dip her feet in.
"Is it cold, Cher?" James called from the bank.
She looked back at him. It was cold, not that she would admit it. "Why don't you come find out?" she called back, her eyes daring him.
He shook his head quickly. "You'll just have Sirius push me in," he told her looking at the dock cautiously.
"Great idea," Sirius's eyes lit up at the prospect.
"No way!" James leapt up and bolted toward the castle.
Remus paused, waiting for her and when she had her shoes back on she raced after them, catching up to James as she passed Sirius who had dropped back to wait for Remus
"I can't believe it's almost winter," she murmured as she put an arm around James.
"I already picked out your Christmas gift," James said as he picked at dirt under his nails.
"You do?" Cherish looked at him expectantly.
He shot her a sideways glance, smirking at the look of excitement in her eyes. "Yes," he answered simply, "but I won't tell you."
Cherish threw him a false glare. "You should, I'm your best friend."
"It's supposed to be a surprise, Cher," he laughed at the affronted expression she gave him.
"I don't like surprises," she brooded and crossed her arms.
"I know, Cher," his eyes sparked with glee. "That's why I do this every year," he tugged on her hair and then lit out in a run, Sirius coming up from nowhere to run after James leaving Cherish behind with Remus.
Remus glanced at her and then rolled his eyes. "Let's go make sure those two don't get into too much trouble without us."
Cherish chose a seat next to Lily during Charms and the pair whispered anxiously about the wrist movement in the spell they were trying to use.
"Maybe it's more of a flick," Lily suggested when nothing happened.
Her wand still lay where it was, much to her mounting frustration.
"I don't understand," Cherish huffed, "I haven't done any of it wrong," she skimmed the book again.
Lily sighed, looking equally nervous as she tried the spell again. "Lumos," she waved her own wand. "I just don't see how-" she broke off staring at the book as though it had offended her.
"No one else is doing much good either," Cherish pointed out hopefully as she looked around the room.
"Good job, Mr. Lupin," the teacher proclaimed loudly as the shy boy managed to make the tip of his own wand flare up with a bright light.
"Lumos is supposed to be one of the easiest spells to learn," Cherish sighed and looked toward Remus who had just earned their House ten points.
A pretty, black-haired girl was next to achieve the spell. The girl threw Cherish a nasty glare and smirked. Even though she was in their Year, and their dorm, the girl seemed rather bitter toward everyone.
"What did I do?" Cherish hissed under her breath as she exchanged a quick glance with Lily. Lily's green eyes matched the shock reflected in Cherish's own green eyes.
"Probably something you did," Lily answered. "Maybe she's just jealous because you're better at Potions than her," she tried to wave if off with some confidence. "Nothing to worry about."
Cherish murmured in agreement but something insider her wouldn't let it go completely. Behind her, both Sirius and James had mastered the spell and Lily only got it after many tries.
"Don't do any wand movement," Lily hissed and Cherish only got it after Lily showed her. Lily held Cherish's wand at the same time Cherish did, with Cherish saying the incantation.
"I'm better at Potions than this," Cherish said thinking of her usually acceptable potions she could produce.
"You can't be good at everything, Cher," James said from behind her.
She tossed her long hair over her shoulder and sent him a glare. "I know," she rolled her eyes. "But Lily is a natural at it, only took her a few times."
Nearly everyone got the spell by the end of class, even Peter who was dead awful at Charms.
Cherish glanced towards the newest addition to the boys' group as the class filed out. He was nearly a head shorter than James, he was chubby but not fat, his baby fat still remained in his face and neck, and he had bright blue eyes. His hair fell in his face much of the time, the greyish blonde strands obscuring any view of his eyes much of the time.
Cherish had yet to grow to care for the pudgy boy. He was considerably nice, with a good eye for tactics that made him excel in games such as Wizard's Chess and Gobstones, sometimes Exploding Snap. However he lacked the charm that James and Sirius shared and he had none of the sweet, calmness that Remus did.
He was simply...there. He was always around, enough that Cherish had grown accustomed to his presence.
The four boys threw their bags on the floor and took over the couch and a cozy armchair. Cherish flopped down into the other fluffy armchair though she quickly moved away from the chair to watch as Peter pulled out his deck of playing cards.
Peter looked around the group patiently. Remus looked on over his usual book, then Sirius finally shifted and then stretched himself out on the rug to play Exploding Snap.
James pulled out his essay and was making quick work of it, already on his third paragraph.
"I never want this to change," Cherish told him quietly as she watched Peter beat Sirius, Remus smiling over his textbook at the pair and seeing the grin that Peter threw her and James.
James looked at her and for a moment he looked wise, then he blinked and the look vanished, replaced with a faraway look. "It won't change," he whispered to her and then bent over his essay to add more sentences.
When the Christmas list finally made its way around, Sirius and James signed up to stay at Hogwarts together. Peter mumbled something hurriedly about his mum and Remus pondered the days before he shook his head. Cherish hesitantly made the decision to stay behind with the pair of boys who had become like her brothers.
James and Sirius both seemed quite pleased when the majority of Gryffindor House stood on the platform, ready to leave for their homes.
Cherish gave both Peter and Remus a hug before they left to board the train.
"You'll be all right, Cher," Remus told her and let her go with a smile.
Peter had smiled nervously, and tensed when she pulled him into a hug as well. "Have a good Christmas, Peter," she told him. He nodded when she released him, still looking rather tense.
"You too, Remus," she gave him a smile before stepping back and allowing Sirius and James their goodbyes. Sirius spoke with them briefly, looking unsettled and uncomfortable. James was noticeably more cheerful, though he too kept his goodbyes short. He gave Peter a clap on the back and Remus a short hug.
Cherish watched sadly as the train flew down the tracks and out of sight, noticing how Sirius seemed less tense almost instantly.
She held her tongue through a delicious supper consisting of chicken casserole and hot rolls. She even managed a few scoops of strawberry ice cream which was oddly refreshing despite the cold temperatures outdoors.
Sirius seemed to be enjoying himself, eating two helpings at dinner and stuffing down several chocolate eclairs along with his helping of ice cream.
Without any homework to do, the trio contented themselves with games of chess by the hearth. Cherish quickly found she was no good at chess and retired to one of the cozy armchairs with a novel, watching the two boys for hours as they played chess, wrestled and practiced various spells and enchantments.
"My mum wanted me home for Christmas," James admitted as they settled into another game of chess. "You too, Cher. She thought you could stay a couple nights."
Sirius let his eyes flicker up to James before he gave him pawn a sharp prod and gave a noise of recognition. "Hm."
"I reckon she just wants me back, I told her I wanted to stay here with you two," James said shrugging nonchalantly.
He gave Sirius a look and then looked up at Cherish. She met his gaze over the bindings of her book. There was something more in the look he gave her, his eyes moved briefly toward Sirius before he looked back at her.
She gave the tiniest of nods and looked back at her book, not really reading what was written on the pages.
"Checkmate," Sirius declared an hour later after a fierce battle involving a couple castles and a knight.
Cherish lay curled up in the armchair, sitting up at the announcement. James stretched, "I'm going to turn in for the night," he stood up and stretched. "Night, Cher," he ruffled her hair affectionately before heading up toward the dorms.
For a few minutes there was silence as Sirius watched the flames crackling, and Cherish watched him without daring to say anything for a long while. She finally pulled her arms under her, raising herself up onto her elbows and watching him with interest. "Sirius?"
His eyes snapped to her almost warily. "Hm?"
"Why didn't you go home for the holidays?" she tried not to sound too curious.
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?" He had never implicitly trusted her the way he trusted, and obviously cared about James. Or even Remus.
Cherish momentarily wondered if she'd bitten off more than she could chew. She looked down, playing with a string on her book. While he didn't sound angry with her, there was a definite edge to his voice. "I was just thinking you might tell me, that's all."
He looked at her with something close to disbelief. "You only want to know because I'm James's best mate."
Cherish shook her head, causing several strands of her hair to fall forward. "I care about you. Just like I care about Remus and Peter."
He hesitated, looking as though he was engaged in some kind of internal battle. "My parents," he finally spoke quietly, "they need some time away from me. My mum owled me-wanted me to come home. My little brother-Regulus, he practically begged me to come home. But I couldn't-I wouldn't, not after..." he trailed off uncertainly.
"After you were put in Gryffindor," Cherish said softly, as though they might be overheard by some unwary stranger. She knew what the Black family was known for, and Gryffindor was not one of those things.
Sirius nodded, starting mutely into the fire again. She could see the flames reflected in those grey orbs as he stared fixedly at the fire, not meeting her eyes.
"Why?" she asked so softly that if he hadn't been looking at her he wouldn't have known she had spoken.
"I'm supposed to be true to the Black name. We're a family of Slytherin, we're superior," it seemed to take a lot of effort for him to force himself to say the words. He barely met her eyes as he said them, giving a very dry, forced laugh.
"Sirius," she began, looking at him anxiously as he returned his gaze to the fire.
His head jerked up quite suddenly, his shoulders tense and his head raised as though he was trying to prove he was superior to her. He stood up quickly, looking all the high-born Pureblood he was.
"I don't want your pity," he spat angrily, his eyes narrowing at her.
She stood up, "I'm not pitying you," her voice was even and calm.
"You are," he snarled more angrily still, glaring at her. "I don't want your help."
There was a sudden pattering of footsteps and they both froze. Cherish hadn't realized how quickly Sirius's voice had risen to a shout.
"Stay away from me," Sirius snapped. He stepped closer as though he might hit her. Cherish raised her chin and met his eyes defiantly, not shifting her gaze from his hurt eyes.
In a flash of his blue pajamas, James was there, having heard the raised voice of his best mate.
James pushed her back, his eyes blazing furiously. "Lay off her," he whirled on Sirius. There was no bitterness in his voice, only the note of protectiveness a brother would use around his sister. "What are you having a go at her for?"
Sirius looked stunned, he closed his mouth quickly but continued to gaze at Cherish with unmasked fury. Then Sirius whirled around and stormed out, slamming the portrait hole behind him.
Cherish thought she heard the Fat Lady snap something at Sirius's retreating back but wasn't sure. She watched him go, then bolted after Sirius. James took two steps then faltered at the look she gave him, warning him not to follow her.
"Let me handle this," she closed the door firmly behind her.
Sirius was running, she only caught glimpses of him from the moonlight above as she chased after him. He was surprisingly fast, making it down several flights of stairs before he vanished completely.
She skidded to a stop, certain that she'd spotted him running down the corridor. She hesitantly lit her wand, seeing only two knights in dulling armor that silently guarded the castle.
"Sirius?" her voice sounded loud in the dead silence of the castle.
She heard his breathing and moved toward it. She turned around a knight and found him lying on the floor. His pale grey eyes met hers but he didn't run this time.
She held her hand out to help him up, he stared at it for several seconds until he took it and pulled her down to his level. She nearly fell, wrapping him in a hug. "Sirius," his name was a whisper on her lips.
"I'm sorry," she told the boy, feeling his tears land on her neck.
"It's not your fault," he managed to croak out. "I don't want to be like them."
"You won't," she comforted, patting him on the back in a comforting gesture.
"H-how do you know?" he asked. She turned to look at him. His eyes were slightly red, she could see the tear tracks glistening in the moonlight. He sounded scared, nothing like the confident, strong boy he usually seemed.
"Because, you don't act like them. You're nothing like the Slytherins. You're the little black sheep," she kissed his forehead gently. He looked up at her, startled by the gesture. "You know," she said slowly as she looked around the dark, "I've never been out in the dark like this. It's kind of interesting."
Sirius brightened slightly, looking at her with a glint of the old mischief in his eyes. "Really?" he took her hand in his, "I'll show you around." She let him pull her up and smiled.
"Where do you want to go? There's this cool passageway through that mirror on the Fourth Floor, and there's the Kitchens I'll bet the house-evles would make us a cup of hot chocolate," he said quite eagerly, pulling her along.
She paused, looking at him. He turned to look at her, "What?"
She shook her head quickly. "Nothing," and allowed him to pull her along and show her the wonders of Hogwarts in the dark. They explored a couple dark corridors and he led her to the Kitchens where, true to his word, the house elves were only too happy to make them mugs of hot chocolate served with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.
They were mostly silent, only speaking when the house elves did. Cherish looked toward Sirius as he dunked a biscuit into his hot chocolate and ate it. He isn't so bad, she decided.
Sirius grinned at her, all hostility gone, and his problems forgotten for now.
