Chapter Four
Trouble in the water, trouble in the air,
Go all the way to the other side of the world and you'll find trouble there,
Revelation even ain't no solution for trouble.
'I can't believe old Sluggy gave us a detention on the first day back! It's not as if we wrecked everything in the supplies store.' grinned Evangeline as she and Sirius walked up the corridor to Transfiguration. They had been asked to stay behind to receive the time and date of their detention after they blew up Slughorn's supplies store.
'What do you mean 'we'? It was you! I know what you mean though, there was a few bottles left unharmed.' laughed Sirius.
'Just because I performed the spell, doesn't mean it was just me that was involved... you forced me to do it. ' teased Evangeline, 'Oh and I managed to nick a bottle of happiness potion,' she said as she pulled out a cork-screw bottle filled with a bright yellow liquid, 'I was thinking of slipping a bit of it into Bellatrix's pumpkin juice. Maybe it would perk her up a bit.'
'Brilliant! I can just imagine her skipping around the corridors with a smile on her face.' chuckled Sirius as they turned the corner.
Evangeline giggled, 'Now that would be something you don't see every day! I somehow don't think we'll get away with a prank in McGonagall's class though,' she sighed as they approached McGonagall's classroom.
A door opened down the corridor, and out walked a stern looking woman, with her hair pulled back into a tight bun. She stood on front of the approaching students with her arms folded.
'Potter, Black. Nice of you both to finally join us.' she said grimly.
Sirius and Evangeline glanced at each other, 'Shit, c'mon better hurry up or she'll have us shot!' mumbled Sirius. They quickened up their walking speed and came to a stop in front of their Professor, who was wearing the expression showing that she wasn't impressed by their lateness.
'Sorry we're late Professor. Slughorn kept us back.' explained Evangeline with a hopeful look on her face.
'Professor Slughorn, Miss Potter. Go in and sit down!' snapped their Head of House as she beckoned her late students into the room.
Sirius and Evangeline waltzed into the classroom, the eyes of their classmates staring up at them. Evangeline could see Izzy and Lily sitting at the front, smiling at her as she walked past. She could see her brother, who was occupying a desk with Remus, grinning up at them. She walked over to the desk sitting directly in front of the two Maurauders, Sirius following her.
'Right, Potter, Black. Here are the snails you are to vanish, the incantations and wand movements are on the board. I am confident, both of you being top of the class, that you will succeed without my help.' said Professor McGonagall as she set down a small box in the middle of Evangeline and Sirius' desk.
'Thanks, Minnie.' winked Sirius.
Oh my God! He even flirts with teachers! Evangeline said to herself. As a result of what Sirius had said, McGonagall looked as though she was about to throw up.
'Mr Black, please refrain in calling me anything but Professor McGonagall,' she said coldly and sat down at her desk and began to flip through pages of an old and tattered book.
Evangeline spun round in her chair, she stared at Sirius, wide eyed and open mouthed. Sirius looked at her with a hint of confusion.
'Why are you looking at me like that?' he said, his eyebrows raised as he opened the small box to reveal a two small brown snails.
'Why am I … You just flirted with McGonagall!' said Evangeline exasperatedly as she set her wand down on the desk rather rapidly.
'Is that what you would call flirting?' he questioned with a smirk. He turned to face her, his eyes intent on seeing her reaction.
'Well.. Yes! First you call her … Minnie and then you wink at her! What exactly would you call it? Making friendly conversation?' spluttered Evangeline, who couldn't help but smile.
'Yes.' Sirius said simply as he lifted the tiny snail out of the little cardboard box. His face broke out into a grin, 'Are you going to sit there looking flabbergasted or are you going to vanish this snail?' he asked.
'I'm going to vanish my snail, thank you very much.' said Evangeline proudly.
She reached over Sirius' arm and grabbed the small box. She peeked inside and a small snail was resting in the corner.
'C'mere little fella.' she said as she picked up the snail from inside the box. She lifted her wand and glanced up at the instructions on the board.
Sirius chuckled and turned round to the desk behind them, 'James, I think your sister has gone insane. She's started to talk to snails!' he whispered.
'She always was mad, Sirius! Nothings changed.' sniggered Evangeline's brother who was attempting to vanish his snail.
Evangeline turned round to face her brother, she glared at him, 'At least I, me being mad of course, have managed to vanish my snail, James. Unlike you.' she spat venomously and returned to face the front.
'Jeez, Eva. What's got your wand in a knot? I was only joking.' said her brother, who was shocked that she had snapped at him like that. He loved her, but she could be so bloody unpredictable and moody.
Evangeline sighed, she knew she shouldn't have said that to him. 'Listen, sorry James. I don't know what's got into me lately.' she said grimly,' But just don't call me mad in my best class, okay?'
'Yes, I agree. You have been acting differently... and please don't kill me for telling the truth!' said James, who wanted to help his little sister overcome her problems.
Evangeline smiled feebly at her brother. He really did try his best to help her, but sometimes it was him that was the root of her troubles.
'And I'm sorry for calling you mad. You clearly aren't when you're the first one out of all of us to vanish the snail … even though you were late to begin with,' smiled James, who was jabbing his snail with his wand.
'It's okay Jamie, and please stop poking that snail, you're going to hurt it!' said Evangeline who was studying her brother abuse the insect sitting on his desk. She turned around when McGonagall came to inspect how everyone was managing with the spell.
When she had walked past Evangeline's row, James whispered, 'I stopped poking the snail for your information, and don't call me Jamie!'
'So Evie, did Slughorn give you and Sirius a detention?' asked Remus as he shoved his snail back into the box.
Evangeline grinned, 'Yep, I think it's a new record actually. I'm beating you already this year Jamesy!'
James snorted, 'Not for long, sis!'
Every year James and Evangeline had a competition to see who could get the most detentions in the school year. After five years of torturing their least favoured teachers, and Slytherins alike, the amount of detentions the both of them had received, was bound to be soaring over a hundred.
Evangeline laughed, she and her brother were back on level terms. But this year, was her year to win battle of the Potters.
_-_-_
Evangeline, Lily and Izzy were walking through the courtyard towards the path which lead down to Hagrid's hut. It was Friday evening, a week had passed of school. The amount of homework they had been given was unbelievable, they barely had time to attend the feasts. Every student in fifth year was expecting a lot of work, but definitely not that much.
'It'll be good to see Hagrid again, 'said Evangeline, 'And it gives us a break from all that work.'
'Oh, Remus was telling me that he got himself a puppy over the Summer to keep him company, ' piped up Izzy, who was walking along the rocks on the side of the path.
'Yeah, James told me in Defence Against the Dark Arts yesterday, even though I already knew. I seen Hagrid out walking it on the first day back.' said Evangeline.
'When did Remus tell you, Izzy?' asked Lily, who elbowed Evangeline suggestively. Evangeline chuckled.
'Oh, last night in the library. You were away on prefect duties, and Evangeline, I don't know were you were, so Remus asked me if I would go to the library with him.' said Izzy who was concentrating on her footing so that she wouldn't fall.
'Oh, where were you last night then Eva?' questioned Lily.
'With James and Sirius. We went Honeydukes. We asked Remy if he wanted to go, but he refused.' she said bluntly, 'We thought he had to patrol the corridors or something. And I don't have a clue where Peter disappeared to.'
'How did you go to Honeydukes? You can't get out of the school at night.' said a confused Izzy.
'Oh, but dear Isabella, there is a way.' grinned Evangeline, 'I'll show it to the both of you sometime.'
The three girls walked down the cobbled path that lead to the stone hut that sat on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Growing in Hagrid's vegetable patch, where pumpkins, which Evangeline presumed were for the Halloween Feast. They knocked on the door of the gamekeepers hut, it opened and they were greeted by the big friendly half-giant.
'Hello you three. C'mon in, 'mon in! 'Ow are – Down Fang, down!' said Hagrid as a lumpy looking black puppy bounded out of the hut.
'Aww! He's adorable!' cooed Evangeline as she was bowled over by the puppy that was continually licking her face.
'Well, 'e wasn't exactly men' ter be.' said Hagrid who was laughing at Evangeline struggling to get away from the dog, who seemed to be very fond of her. 'C'mere Fang, you silly mutt!'
Evangeline chuckled and picked herself up from the ground, 'Thanks Hagrid.'
'Tha's alrigh' Evangeline. C'mon in fer a cuppa tea.' suggested Hagrid, who ushered the three girls into his hut.
The three girls found somewhere to sit, Lily and Izzy shared an armchair while Evangeline grabbed a very big chair. Fang the puppy had slumbered in behind them and rested his head on Evangeline's thigh.
'So how've you been Hagrid?' asked Lily, who was observing him grab four massive tea cups from the cupboard.
'I've been alrigh', glad teh have yehs all back though.' he said as he filled each cup with boiling water.
'Hagrid? Where'd you get Fang?' quizzed Izzy.
'Oh, I got him off a fella I met down the pub o'er the Summer. Seemed pretty willin' ter give im teh me, ter be honest.' said Hagrid as he brought over three cups filled with steaming tea and set them on the table.
'Thanks Hagrid. Anyone else been down to visit you?' said Evangeline who picked up the cup and took a sip of the tea. She had to resist spraying the 'tea' over everyone. It seemed Hagrid, no matter how hard he tried, he could never make the perfect cup of tea.
'Yer brother and his friends were down ter visit the other day.' he replied, 'He's been tellin' me tha you're beatin 'im already in tha competition a yours.' he smiled and set down a plate of biscuits.
'Oh, yes. I've got a detention tonight with Sirius in Slughorn's supply store. Three overall. One with James tomorrow night with Sinistra and one with all the guys on Sunday morning with that new caretaker, Filch.' said Evangeline as she picked up a biscuit from the plate.
'You do get in ter a lot o' trouble you do.' Hagrid chuckled.
'Tell me about it.' said Izzy and Lily simultaneously.
Evangeline just laughed. 'It must be in the blood, eh? Come to think of it, it's Sirius that gets into more trouble than James.' she said as she bit into one of the biscuits, she could have sworn it had chipped her teeth, so she hesitantly put it back onto the plate without anyone noticing.
'Aye, Sirius' bin tellin' me that you n' im are the most trouble. Says e' enjoys pullin' all those pranks way yeh.' said Hagrid as he set his overly large cup onto a saucer.
'Really?' said Evangeline, who absent mindedly looked at her watch. 'Oh gosh, look at the time! I have a detention in fifteen minutes. Sorry Hagrid, but I really have to go, thank you ever so much for the tea … and er biscuit. See you later.' she said and rushed out the door.
Lily and Izzy looked at each other. 'Well Hagrid, it looks like we'll be staying with you for a bit longer.' laughed Lily.
_-_-_
'Ah, Miss Potter, how nice of you to join us.' began Slughorn as Evangeline walked through the door. 'Just on time too.'
Evangeline walked over and sat on the desk in which Sirius was sitting at, threw a smile in his direction and pretended to listen intently to what Slughorn was about to say.
'Now the both of you will be clearing that unheavenly mess you made in my store, no magic will be involved and no gloves will be needed. If anything unusual happens to your skin or hands, come to see me immediately, you may begin.' said the overweight professor.
'This should be a treat.' muttered Evangeline as she and Sirius shuffled towards the store. 'I think it's in a worse state now than what it was when we left it on Monday morning!' said Evangeline as she stared into the store, which looked as if a bomb had gone off in it.
'Flippin' hell, we're gonna be in here all night!' groaned Sirius.
'Well, we better get a move on then, shouldn't we?' said Evangeline, who began to pick up shards of glass that were strewn across the floor.
'I s'ppose so ...'mumbled Sirius, as he ran his hand through his long black hair. 'But where do you start?' he said looking lost.
'Well, if I lift all the glass -gosh it'll take a while- you grab that mop and start cleaning the floor, once I have it all lifted.' suggested Evangeline as she bent down to pick up some green tinted glass.
'You know what?' said Sirius as he picked up the mop and began to sweep it across the floor, ' I reckon you'd be a great mum.'
'Hmm?' said Evangeline as she stood up and came walking out from behind a bookcase, her hands full with shards of glass.
'I think you would make a good mum.' said Sirius, who avoided eye contact with her and continued to mop the floor.
Evangeline smiled at him, 'What makes you think that?' she said as she threw the glass into a bucket with so much force that she made herself jump when the crash echoed through the room. 'Oops.'
Sirius laughed,' It's just the way you seemed to know what to do. It's a complete bomb site in here and yet you stay calm and get on with it. You're good at giving orders too.' he watched for her reaction.
She glanced over at him, her eyebrows raised, 'Am I now?'
'You know I'm only kidding.' he smiled, paused from mopping the floor and leant on the handle, 'I just have a feeling that you would be a very protective mother. Well, you would kill for your friends, I'm scared of what you might do for your own children.' he chuckled.
'No one insults or hurts my friends and gets away with it. That's how much you guys mean to me.' she said simply, and returned to picking up the remaining pieces of glass.
Sirius gazed into space, for a long time there was silence, they both just got on with their work. 'How many children do you want?' he blurted out.
He heard her laugh from the other side of the room, and she walked over her hands full, yet again, with more glass. 'I wasn't really planning on having children yet, Sirius. I'm only fifteen. I'd like to wait until I'm at least twenty ....and married.' she said and turned to face him. 'What's with the intense questioning?'
'Oh nothing, I was just wondering. Something to pass the time with I s'ppose.' he replied and returned to his mopping. Evangeline wandered back to where she was working before.
'So how many would you like then?' she called, Sirius could hear her sweeping up the glass.
'I don't know, as many as we decide.' Sirius replied as he lifted the mop up and set it in the bucket of water.
'We? Who's we?' questioned Evangeline.
'No one. My wife if I ever get married.' sighed Sirius, who lifted the mop out of the bucket and began to sweep it over the remainder of the tiled floor.
'What do you mean if you ever get married?' said Evangeline as she walked over, broom under her arm and glass in her hands, 'Of course you'll get married!'
'What makes you think that?' Sirius said as he watched her, dump the last pieces of glass into the bucket.
'Well, first of all, do you want to get married?' she asked as she pulled up a stool and sat down on it, watching Sirius as he worked.
He paused, 'Of course I want to get married! I want a family, a wife and kids and...'
'Well that's settled then. There will be someone out there for you, Sirius. And someone for me too. But we're still young! God knows, we could end up marrying someone who went to Hogwarts!' said Evangeline, who was now standing.
'I know, I know …' muttered Sirius who had nearly finished the mopping up, it was clear that he was thinking intently about something.
'Sirius?' Evangeline asked softly.
'Hmm?' came his reply.
'Why... Why are you so passionate about getting married and having a family now? I mean we're fifteen ..' said Evangeline who was trying to figure out why Sirius was acting strange about the subject they were discussing.
'Because I never had a family who loved me properly. And I don't want to end up being like my parents.' he said quietly as he set the mop up against the wall.
'Oh Sirius!' said Evangeline, who jogged over and hugged him, 'We're your family. Me, James, Remus, and God forbid even Peter!' Sirius smiled into her hair and pulled her closer to his body.
'I honestly don't know what I would do without you,' he said as they broke away from their hug.
'Well, I do try – Ahhhhh!' screamed Evangeline, who was now lying flat on her back on the floor. 'Sirius! It's not funny! Ow, my back …'
Sirius was doubling over with laughter, 'You slipped on the mop!'
'Well I figured as much!' snapped Evangeline, whose back was in pain. 'Now help me up!'
'Oh, okay, okay. You are incredibly clumsy. Have I ever told you this before?' he asked her as he pulled her up from the floor and put his arm around her waist to support her.
'On countless occasions …' Evangeline mumbled as she grabbed onto Sirius' shoulder. 'I think I can walk, let's try ..' and she let go of Sirius and began to walk slowly across the room.
'Yeah, I'll be fine, just never let me near a mop again.' she said as she walked over to the door. 'Let's go tell old Sluggy that we've finished.'
'Here, Angel? What time is it?' Sirius asked as he walked out of the room after her.
'Um .. Ten fifteen. Jeez, we've been here for roughly four hours!' said Evangeline, shocked that they had spent so long tidying the store.
'Ahh, hello Miss Potter, Mr Black, finished are we?' questioned Professor Slughorn, who was sitting at his desk marking, with a box of crystallized pineapple sitting open beside his inkwell.
'Yes, Professor,' yawned Evangeline.
'Oh dear, better get off to bed then, Miss Potter. You look dreadfully tired. Goodnight to the both of you.' he said and he got out of his chair to escort them to the door. 'Now don't take an detours, go straight back to Gryffindor tower, goodnight.' and he closed the door behind him.
'Old Slughorn is right you know, you really do look tired.' said Sirius as he rested his arm over Evangeline's shoulders.
'I've had a long day I s'ppose …' said Evangeline who yawned again and rested her head on Sirius' shoulder.
'Well the sooner we get back to the tower, the sooner you can go to bed.' Sirius reasoned with her. 'That was your cue to move your feet a bit faster, honey.'
Evangeline nudged him with her elbow, 'My legs are tired.' she said.
'Well, do you want me to carry you?' Sirius offered.
'No, I'm far too heavy!' Evangeline protested, 'We'll just walk together, I like strolls in the dark anyway.'
'Fine, we'll go for a stroll.' smiled Sirius, and they walked off down the corridor and into the darkness.
Hope you liked the chapter! Please review, review, review! I really like it when people give me tips on what I should do to improve my stories, so I would be glad to get some! Hope everybody had a good Christmas, and Santa Claus brought you what you wanted! (: Tori x