E - Hello everybody! Sorry it's been so long since the last chapter but here we are! Also the last chapter has been updated as the scene in Dumbledore's office was omitted in the original so if you haven't read it since then, go check it out! Enjoy!
The four girls knelt in the third floor corridor, scrubbing morosely on the flagged stone floor the old fashioned way, brushes, sponges and buckets: their punishment for the debacle at the opening feast.
"My knees are dying!" Lorkin moaned, slumping dejectedly against the wall. Morgan turned, sweeping strands of blond hair from here face as she noted the way Lorkin's arms were flailing dangerously close to her bucket.
"Watch out for the-"
"UUurrgghhh!" the other girl howled as cold, soapy water slopped across her shirt and hair.
"Too late" Morgan sniggered before leaning back down to scrub a new patch of floor.
"Aww guys, it's not funny!" The soaked girl tugged sadly at her now very see through school shirt, before groaning and collapsing dramatically on the floor. Cassie and Percy were now paying attention, smirking at their friend's attitude as she addressed the ceiling beseechingly "And where even are the Marauders?"
Morgan shrugged her shoulders with a non-committal noise but Cassie's expression cleared.
"Oh! They're clearing up some dung-bombs on the fifth floor" she answered promptly. Her friends gave her a questioning look "What? Remus told me." The other girls grinned knowingly whilst Cassie flushed a gentle shade of pink, turning her attention back to scrubbing determinedly on an already shining flagstone.
"Whooaa!" There was an odd slosh and clanking noise and three of the girl's attention turned back to Lorkin who was entangled with her bucked and completely drenched with the water that had survived the previous spillage. There was a split second of stunned silence and then the other girls burst into raucous laughter as their friend pouted in annoyance.
"Nice hair Lorkin!" Percy gasped between bouts of giggles at her friend's dripping curls.
"Yep, definitely rocking the drowned rat look." Cassie snorted.
"Oh... Ha Ha." Lorkin huffed; effectively slapping herself in the face with strands of dripping hair. This, of course, set the others gasping for air as they clutched their sides with breathless mirth. As they laughed a sly look dawned on the fourth girl's face and her lip twitched mischievously.
Surreptitiously, Lorkin pulled her wand from her sleeve. Three sponges floated into the air from behind her giggling and oblivious friends and then flew through the empty space to meet their unsuspecting targets with a satisfying squelching sound; which, Lorkin mused, was somewhat similar to the sound of a squashed flobberworm.
There was a unanimous shriek of surprise and Cassie, Morgan and Percy's heads whipped round, staring daggers at Lorkin. Her eyes widened in terror.
"AGUAMENTE!" the three girls cried in unison.
"Noooo!"
Three jets of water shot towards her and she sat feebly back on her behind, eyes scrunched shut and sputtering as impressive amounts of water were expelled from her nose and mouth. She finally staggered to her feet to lay her eyes upon a corridor that now largely resembled the black lake.
"Oh no" she groaned as she surveyed the battleground, then she glanced at her friends "Wait... how in Merlin's name did you guys stay dry?"
Three mildly condescending grins met her frown.
"Well we are all four witches Lokiana my dear friend" Cassie chided with a smile, clapping her on the back in a genial manner" Do try and remember that" she reprimanded; earning an indignant shove in the shoulder from her damp friend.
"Yeah yeah, you know I never got the hang of these household spells... but seriously, Filch is going to kill us!" she cried, giving them all reproachful looks.
"Whoa! You started this-"
"We could always say it was Myrtle" Percy chimed.
"Wrong floor" Morgan countered with a mutter "he'll string us up and have our guts for garters"
"Thanks for that mental image Morgana" Lorkin replied dryly.
As they bickered Percy noticed an echo of footsteps sounding down the corridor; still quite far off.
"Guys..." she interjected in warning and her friends voices quickly fell two a hush; guttering torchlight flickering across their taut expressions.
"Filch!" Cassie hissed, looking fretfully between her companions. They all knew the feline companion that proceeded the school caretaker. As a wiry tale brushed Percy's leg Lorkin had the good sense to clap her hand around the brunette's mouth as she uttered a muffled yep of terror at the cat's presence.
"I swear that thing is possessed" Morgan observed, staring warily at the animal's creepy, lamp-like eyes.
"Away foul beast!" Cassie urged, miming a cross sign with her arms.
"This is no time to be making vampire puns you ninny" Lorkin whispered, wet strands of hair falling in her face. The cat meowed a warning. "Follow me!" With that she dove behind a tapestry, the others followed after, stumbling and swearing profusely down the winding and uneven passageway.
"Where does this lead" Percy enquired in a stage whisper.
"I… can't remember" Lorkin admitted, having the sense to mutter "lumos!" before raising the pin point of light above their heads.
"You don't know?" Morgan sputtered in disbelief.
"Look, did you want to get caught by Filch and live out you're the rest of your days without the use of your thumbs. Because so feel free to-"Morgan gave Lorkin a dark, withering look. The other girl turned and carried on walking "Didn't think so."
The girls found themselves faced with the underside of another tapestry. Four heads peered cautiously out from behind it and Cassie pulled a small, red gemstone from her pocket.
"Wait, you had it with you and you didn't tell us?" Morgan stated flatly.
Cassie looked between her three incredulous friends sheepishly, and then the object that they had invented and designed themselves in their fourth year, began to glow in her hand.
"Someone's near" She whispered tensely. She squeezed the stone once and a name inscribed itself briefly in the air: Argus Filch.
"RUN!" Lorkin and Cassie exclaimed in unison; dodging left where the gemstone darkened and it's temperature increased (an idea Cassie had come up with to do with a muggle game where you gauged the position of a person by being told if you were 'warmer' or 'colder') showing them their best route of escape.
They veered wildly round the corner, running at full pelt through the castle and earning mixed cried of enragement and encouragement from watching portraits. The stone shone brighter.
"Th-there's someone ahead!" Lorkin gasped as they flew around yet another corner.
"Can't be worse than Filch" Percy pointed out.
"Dunno, I can think of a few people…"
"Wh-who?" somebody enquired, tugging Cassie's arm. The auburn haired girl clenched her fist around the glowing stone and four names appeared in the air…
WHACK!
The girls collided violently with four figures; all tumbling into a painful tangle of limbs on the floor. A mixture of groans and curses echoed down the hallway.
"What are you doing here?" Several voices chorused angrily. Glares were exchanged between the flustered girls and four enraged boys whose names had appeared in the air only moments before: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. The Marauders.
"Well we were serving detention for your stupid prank at the feast" Morgan snarled as she disentangled herself from Peter's left foot.
"Whoa, our prank? You were the ones who-"
"And what are you doing here" Cassie challenged with a triumphant glint in her eyes "You should have been doing detention too… on the fifth floor" Remus had the good grace to look rather abashed, Peter giggled childishly but James and Sirius sported matching mischievous smirks.
"Just collecting supplies" Sirius drawled; revealing a bottle of Firewhiskey in the torn lining of his jacket. Morgan eyed the alcohol with interest but Lorkin whirled around in irritation.
"Never mind that. Filch is on our tail, we need to move!" The Marauders all seemed to pale slightly at the caretaker's name. "So what were you running from?" she snapped.
"Um… well actually we were running from Filch" Remus disclosed "but we thought we'd lost him" the pale boy cracked a wry smile "So I'd suggest that we probably need to get out of-" he trailed off as uneven, shuffling footsteps and tell-tale ragged breathing sounded from their right. "-here" he finished.
They needed no further prompting. The band of teenagers scrambled to their feet and started back in a run the way that the Marauders had come from. James and Sirius took the lead, thundering through shortcuts and passageways in places the girl's had never even suspected an escape route existing in.
"We'll never lose him!" Morgan huffed.
"There are t-too many of us. Too obvious" Remus agreed breathlessly as he stumbled slightly on the corner of a hall rug.
"They're right" James slowed slightly to address the stampeding hoard.
"We could always disappear…"
"You mean hide." Lorkin contradicted Sirius bluntly. The tallest Marauder turned his attention to Lorkin; a sly, lopsided grin gracing his featured as he ran his eyes over her bedraggled appearance.
"Scrubbing floors not agree with you Avery?" He inquired as his eyes fell pointedly at the soaked, see-through material that clung rather suggestively to her breasts. The girl made a noise of indignation; throwing one arm across her chest as she slowed her pace to fall behind the offending Marauder.
Everyone seemed to be searching their surroundings desperately for an escape, however with no other choice coming to light, the group seemed to come to the unspoken agreement that hiding might be their only option.
"H-how about the sixth floor, i-in the North wing" Peter wheezed. Several heads turned towards him in a mildly surprised manner.
"Petey my friend, your very occasional knack of coming up with semi-plausibly ideas, continues to astound me" Sirius proclaimed as they jogged up a tight, spiral staircase. The small, round faced boy smiled uncertainly through his laborious panting.
They tumbled into the darkened corridor with a disorganised finality; James was the first to come to his senses.
"Quickly! Move, move, move!" his arms flailed in encouragement as they all scattered across the corridor.
Peter dithered in the middle of the commotion with a panic stricken expression. Morgan spotted him and groaned inwardly.
"For Merlin's sake!" she hissed, rolling her eyes before shoving the plump boy bodily into the nearest suit of armour; casting freezing and silencing charms over the haphazard marauder for good measure.
Percy pulled open a broom cupboard with a whoop of triumph; the rusted hinged screaming loudly in complaint and she beckoned Morgan and James with a grin before jamming the door shut firmly behind them.
The remaining four stood undecidedly under one guttering wall torch. Cassie stared mutely at the gemstone in her hand as it grew steadily brighter and warmer in her palm and the ominous gait of Argus Filch made itself heard in the dense silence.
A look of immense relief crossed Remus' features as he spotted a decent sized statue just to their left and he pulled Cassie with him into its shadow, squashed tightly but safely in the small space.
A small worry line appeared on Sirius' forehead as he surveyed their severe lack of options. He spotted a shallow wall alcove and shunted Lorkin bodily into it as the footsteps reached the corner. He pulled her between him and the wall as they both attempted in vain to make themselves less visible (although they both silently admitted how futile it was).
As Sirius searched desperately for an idea, any idea, her eyes finally raised to meet his. The contempt they usually held was significantly diminished as hopeless terror began to replace it. Sirius acquired a sudden look of realisation in his eyes and locked his gaze with Lorkin.
"Kiss me" he urged, searching her face imploringly as his epiphany dawned on him.
Lorkin stared at him disbelievingly.
"Black this is no time to start declaring your undying love" she hissed almost inaudibly and then added. "And your mental if you think I'd-"
"Look you kiss me or I'll kiss you, trust me, this is the only way it'll work" he insisted, a desperate edge to his tone. Her wide, blue eyes narrowed stubbornly.
"Guess we're going for option B" he sighed gratingly.
Cassie peered cautiously out from the edge of the statue at the remaining pair's struggle to find a hiding spot.
"What are they-" She pondered before her eyes slowly widened in shock "Oh!"
"What?" Remus' voice sounded in a whisper over her shoulder. The dreaded footsteps drew closer and Remus silently drew her back into the safety of the shadow behind their stone guardian.
"Well that's-" Cassie turned, stormy eyes surprised as she found herself within centimetres of Remus' own politely shocked expression "…interesting" she exhaled. They stood for a moment, noses almost touching, and those liquid caramel eyes staring into hers.
Filch gave a particularly wheezing cough and they turned away abruptly. Both of them breathily slightly faster and their cheeks burning as they realised just how squashed together they were behind the lone statue.
Lorkin went stock still at the pressure of unknown lips against her own. They pressed softly, Sirius' hand trailed around her waist and both her body and voice refused to react; a faint flush crept up her neck.
Filch was advancing at his infuriating, shuffling pace down the corridor that the herd of disruptive students had disappeared, he peered keenly into nooks and crannies, beady eyes searching hungrily for a Gryffindor to punish.
Sirius glared warningly at Lorkin but she seemed almost completely unresponsive. A harsh stamp on her foot caused her to hiss through her teeth and Sirius whispered urgently "Trust me, make an effort and he won't come near us. He won't even recognise us. He despises any show of intimacy, he doesn't know how to deal with it!"
He watched her desperately, seeing the gears beginning to work in her mind; coming to the same conclusion that he had drawn. Clinging to the hope of that one, tiny reaction, he took their last chance and crushed his mouth against hers.
A second passed… and she replied.
Her lips moved against his, parting for him and suddenly the kiss deepened. Old frustrations being easily confused with lust, years of disdain melting into desire until they were intoxicated with a cocktail of conflicting emotions. The moisture off her shirt was seeping into his own, her breasts pushed up deliciously against his chest and his hands pressed under her clothes, hers tangled in his hair, their bodies up against the wall.
And Sirius Black; Cassanova, player, was completely thrown. He'd kissed more girls than any other, but never Avery. Where other's fell at his feet, she's fire a tripping hex. When girls giggled and waved she sneered and jinxed him. But suddenly all he saw and felt and tasted were her lips, her hair, her skin. And then he'd lifted her and her legs snaked around his hips and she was pushed up the wall… and he was lost.
They broke apart. Panting. Flustered and avoiding each other's' gaze.
Filch was long gone, muttering about 'disgusting displays of affection' and 'outright animals' as he went.
They stumbled out of the alcove as Cassie and Remus appeared cautiously from behind the statue and then Percy, James and Morgan rattled out of the cupboard in a cloud of dust. Morgan pointed her wand at a set of armour which regurgitated Peter who looked rather worse for wear.
They looked wordlessly around at one another, relief plain on everyone's faces. Cassie stared meaningfully at Lorkin but the other girl would not meet her gaze; her eyes seemed fixed determinedly on her toes. They started off towards the common room.
All was well.
