Disclaimer: I wish I owned it. I wish I were filthy rich. Sadly, I do not and am not.
Author's Note: Hello, Loves.Oh, and, by the way, I know some of you were probably expecting fluff from this and are maybe just a little disappointed; but, honestly, they're only 11! You can't expect 11 year-olds to be in love. Especially not 11-year-old boys. Anyway, this chapter is action-packed and fun-filled with all sort of marauders goodness from before they were even the marauders! Read, enjoy, and review.
The Zinnia Blooms--Family in It's Forms
The entirety of everyone's favorite group sat down for breakfast Monday morning in a very good mood. Toast, cereal, bacon, eggs and pumpkin juice were just beginning to be enjoyed when the morning mail came in. By this time they were all used to it but, somehow, Sirius still wasn't comfortable with the idea of all those great, squawking owls flying over his breakfast. He did intend on eating it, after all. Unlike Sirius, Peter got a letter from his mum and dad, as did James, Remus and Lycaon: all the better for him. He doubted they'd have anything good to say any way.
Lycaon's owl clutched onto her shoulder, staring calmly at him with round, dark eyes from within his white, heart-shaped face. He had half a mind to swat it off but he doubted Ly would allow that. She was reading calmly over the short letter from her parents. Remus—who looked a world healthier than before he left—had put his letter in his pocket; James had started to read his long letter but gave up moments later; and Pete was still reading the thick scroll of parchment that his parents had used to write their letter.
It was then that a rather disagreeable-looking eagle-owl with red-orange eyes swooped in and dropped a thick, red envelope right onto Sirius' plate. Uh-oh. Lycaon looked up, tucking her letter away and shooing her owl off. Her eyes fell on him, then his plate, which he assumed he must be staring at in horror. Yes, indeed – mumsy dearest had something to say and it definitely was not going to be pleasant. Remus poked Peter who looked up to what the other four already saw. A Howler.
"Get it over with quick, mate." James said quietly.
Sirius nodded and picked up the envelope which was now smoking slightly. He opened it quickly and threw it down on the table, cringing and covering his ears as did the others. A boom echoed throughout the hall, shaking their table and causing dust to fall from heaven only knows where.
"SIRIUS CANIS BLACK! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO YOUR SURNAME!" Mrs. Black's awful yells reverberated off the stone walls with unnatural volume while everyone was staring and trying to shield their ears while still hearing what was going on. "YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL YOU WERE TO GET INTO SLYTHERIN! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE ASHAMED OF YOU! WE CAN HARDLY EVEN FACE THE RELATIVES! WHAT'S MORE YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL US! WHY ARE YOU STILL IN GRYFFINDOR? WE EXPECT YOU TO DO YOUR BEST TO GET OUT THIS INSTANT! YOU HAD BEST WATCH YOURSELF, YOUNG MAN! WE'LL CUT YOU STRAIGHT OFF! AND WHAT'S THIS I HEAR ABOUT YOU CONSORTING WITH BLOOD TRAITORS? YOU ARE TO STAY TO YOUR OWN KIND! MAYBE IF YOU SPEND AS LITTLE TIME AROUND THOSE GRYFFINDORS AS POSSIBLE THEN WE CAN STILL REDEEM OUR FAMILY NAME! IT IS DESPICABLE THAT YOU COULD SO BLATANTLY DISRESPECT, YOUR FATHER, MYSELF, AND THE ENTIRE HOUSE OF BLACK! HOW COULD YOU SO SHAME YOUR BLOOD? IF YOU KEEP UP THIS NONSENSE THERE WILL BE NO REDEMPTION! I'LL HAVE MY EYES ON YOU! NEVER HAS ANY SON SO DISGRACED HIS MOTHER! FROM NOW ON YOU WILL LEARN YOUR PLACE!"
The silence was thick in the air. No one dared even speak . . . well . . . unless one counted Sirius. He was shaking and red in the face with humiliation and fury. He stood up from the bench suddenly, knocking his plate, goblet and howler to floor with a great crash and a scream.
"LIKE HELL I WILL!" He screamed at the ashes of the howler that had just spontaneously combusted and kicked the plate across the floor. He turned at galumphed out of the Great Hall.
(Ly's POV)
Instantly Lycaon and James were out of their seats. For some reason, it didn't seem like the best idea to let him rage like this. Lycaon ran out of the hall with James moments behind her and both of their bags still under the table. No matter, Remus and Pete could deal with that. How could a mother say those things? Ly had had no idea that Mrs. Black was really that bad. She could barely hear Sirius' angry stomping from a distance away over her own running, breathing, and heartbeat. It was hard not to get caught up in running like she normally would have, but at least her boots were good to run in. She heard a clatter and crash of a suit of armor and followed that around a corner where Sirius was walking away from a gold-plated suit he appeared to have just kicked. That had to have hurt. But he didn't seem to feel it. Anger has its own form of adrenaline, though, doesn't it?
"Sirius!" She called; running up to him and hearing James follow her down the corridor.
Sirius didn't stop or turn to look at her. He walked on determinedly and moodily. The wanker! She kept on running, catching up to his steady storming easily.
"Sirius!" she said again, stopping just behind him. He didn't respond. "Damn it, Sirius!" She let out loudly, not even thinking before her hand darted out and caught him by his dark hair.
"LET GO!" He commanded after being jerked back and down into a most undignified crouch. Lycaon did as he told her to but only with the knowledge that he wouldn't try to storm off again. "Look you two," he closed his eyes in an attempt to remain calm. "I just need to work this off. I promise I won't do anything I'll regret."
"Yeah, because obviously kicking over a suit of armor is such an excellent show of self-control." James replied with a hint of frustration.
"Look, I'm not in the best of moods right now so just shut up!" Sirius fired back.
"Sirius, it's not doing anyone any good to knock stuff around." Lycaon said, trying to make him see some reason.
"That's funny; it seems to make me feel better." He leaned against the wall, his intense gray eyes looking absolutely murderous.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake! Would you just stop being such a prick? We're just trying to be good friends and help you out." She shot back, feeling every bit as murderous.
They made eye contact and for a moment they cried out everything they felt—all the frustration—without opening their mouths. He heaved a sigh and looked down at his feet. "I guess you're right. Actually," He looked up with a small smirk, "I'm surprised it took her this long."
Lycaon let the corners of her mouth tug up into a little smile. Now, that was how she wanted to see Sirius.
"So, shall we go ahead and finish breakfast then?" James asked, rubbing his hands together with a grin.
"Nah," Sirius said with a smile and a casual sort of tone even though his eyes were exactly as they had been two minutes ago, "I think I've lost my appetite."
"Somebody call the press!" James said, trying to keep the mood light. "You sure, mate?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. You two go finish up. I'll be in the Library for a little bit before class, but no worries. I'll meet you there, alright?"
"Alright," James and Lycaon replied in unison.
He gave them a big, reassuring smile and headed down the hall. James and Ly went back the way they had come except, this time, not running. Lies . . . Sirius had just fed them a great handful of lies. So why had Ly not pointed this out? Well, what would the point have been? Insisting that he come back into the Great Hall with them certainly wouldn't have done any good. No, it was best just to let it be. And there was something so disarming about that smile—how could she not believe him when he smiled like that?—but, at the same time, it was shattering; something about it was so desperate. Like the last moments of a warrior in battle—the final endeavor before death.
Ly found that the day went by in a blur. She scarcely paid attention to what was being taught to her, but that was okay. She liked to think that she actually did her best listening when it didn't seem like she'd listened at all. She was, however, paying attention enough to note that Sirius was distant all day. He was much quieter than usual, and she knew that things were more amiss than he would have them believe. The others noticed as well . . . but what could they do?
Transfiguration, break, lunch . . . it was all one big time mass that Ly and Sirius both paid little or no attention to. Finally, though, it was evening and time to start going over plans again. The group sat in a secluded corner, close together, but hoping they seemed inconspicuous.
"Okay," James said, sitting forward in his chair. "So, Ly knows what she's doing in order to avoid suspicion. Am I right?"
"Absolutely," Lycaon replied coolly, waving her hand.
"Right then," He looked around at the others. "So, she gets down here and we head out. The Fat Lady probably won't give us any trouble so long as we don't let her. We go behind the Mimosa Voinovich portrait, then, once we get out of that, we go into the long, winding passage behind the big unicorn tapestry." James spoke calmly, with constant hand motions. "We'll come out close to the Goblin Rebellion painting in that empty hallway just off of the Charms hall and from there we'll be as good as out of the castle. Once we make it through the last passage it's a dead run into the forest, but there's not many windows right there so we should be okay. If the caretaker wasn't so ignorant I'd worry. I know he knows a few passages, but not enough to be of any trouble to us. Besides, from what I understand he's only been here a few years anyway and he still has difficulty getting around from time to time."
"You know, James, you talk a lot." Sirius said, his face evincing no emotion, and his eyes empty as they stared past James and straight at the wall.
"Er . . . right. Sure thing, Mate," James said in slightly shaken voice. None of them knew what was right to do about Sirius. He had just been so off all day and it had only gotten worse as the hours wore on.
Well, sometimes you have to do something, right? It's like they say: action may not always bring happiness but there can be no happiness without action. Soo . . . .
SMACK! "Merlin's beard! What the bloody hell was that about?" Sirius said angrily, rubbing the side of his face where Lycaon's hand had landed.
"I wanted to make sure you were present for this. I'm sure you would have been upset to realize you were spaced out during the entire thing." Ly said simply, just glad his eyes were focused and his face had an expression of some sort on it.
"Well, do try to be more subtle about it next time!" He said, still aggravated.
"Of course, Master. Lycaon is just wishing to be helpful, Lycaon is." She bobbed her head up and down, doing her best imitation of a House elf. Sirius rolled his eyes, but there was a slight lifting of the corners of his mouth.
"Let's head up to the dorms." Remus said. "We need to make this look like a regular evening and regularly we'd have been gone at least fifteen minutes ago."
"He's right," Peter said, standing up. "G'night, Ly." He said with a wink and walked off. Who would have known he would actually get bolder at a time like this? Adrenaline much?
"Good night," Remus said with a smile and followed Peter.
"Sleep tight," Sirius said with a wink, similar to Pete's but more puckish.
"Don't let the bed-bugs bite!" James grinned and followed the others up.
Lycaon, left with no other choice, got up and went off to her dormitory. This was going to be fun with the boys so into it like this, but then you add the adrenaline rush and sheer freedom of breaking the rules . . . and you had one hell of a time. A smile broke out on her face and was still there when she entered the dorm. She was pleased with what she saw. The lights were all out even though there was a small sliver of yellow from under the bathroom door where someone was obviously still finishing up. It was time for the act to begin.
It was going to be one huge pain, but she was going to have to change out of her robes, into her pajamas, and then into some clothes one could actually enter the Forbidden Forest in. You couldn't exactly romp about in the woods in a skirt or duck-printed pajamas. She took the opportunity to dig through the drawer of her small dresser and pull out some lightly faded jeans and an old black sweater: in other words, nothing she would miss if it were permanently ruined tonight. She also pulled out her pajamas and slipped into them, proceeding to follow her nightly routine.
She waited in her bed for quite a while, struggling against the sleep that saw no reason not to come. At long last, she was satisfied with the evenness of the other girls' breaths and the darkness of the outer hallway. She slithered out from under the covers and quickly dressed in her selected outfit, shoving her pajamas under her pillow, snatching up her wand, and leaving her bed hangings closed. She opened the door maybe half of a foot and slipped through. She went down the stairs, trying to make as little sound as possible and managing quite well even though the smallest of noises was painfully loud at the moment. She peeked out from the entrance to the Girls' Dorms and saw, to her relief, only five young boys in muggle dress—though Sirius had probably had to borrow his attire—in the Common Room. She walked out with a smile.
Remus saw her first and waved, causing the other heads to turn and grin at her. They did appear to be all set. She walked right up to the group, right beside Pete and in front of James.
"Shall we go then?" She asked the apparent leader of their group as a grin broke out on her face despite her efforts to remain controlled.
"Of course," he replied turning and walking towards the exit.
Lycaon started straight after him, pretending to march, holding her wand like a soldier would carry his rifle. Sirius smiled and followed example, Pete doing the same and Remus grinning and joining in. Really, Lycaon hadn't expected him to but, then again, this seemed like one of those times when you could get caught up in the moment. They exited the Common completely, still in their mock-march. They stopped this, however, for the sake of stealth once they were out in the hall.
"Who's out at this hour?" The Fat Lady asked groggily and then looked down at them. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing at all," Lycaon replied tartly. "You just go back to sleeping."
The Fat Lady muttered something about disrespect but was dozing off almost instantly. They continued on quickly and quietly down the hall until they came to the portrait they needed. It was a bony witch with graying, auburn hair pulled back into a bun that was almost as severe as McGonagall's. This witch, however, was smiling widely, wearing a pastel blue robe, and in ownership of laugh lines that were well etched into her face as well as dark brown eyes which were currently staring down at them. Why she wasn't asleep was beyond Ly.
"Oughtn't you be in bed?" She asked with a light Russian accent.
"Actually, yes," Sirius said from behind Lycaon, "but we want to use the passage behind your portrait there."
"If you must," She said with a heavy sigh, allowing her portrait to swing open.
The whole lot of them clambered inside and walked on in the darkness. Darkness . . . this shouldn't have been allowed. No, someone should have had the foresight to look that up. I should have, too. Someone bumped into her from behind with a quiet 'oof'. Naturally, said person could only be Sirius as they had remained in single file.
"Don't tell me no one bothered to learn a charm to give us a little light," she said into the pitch black.
"Oh, sorry about that," came Remus' voice from somewhere behind her. "I learned it; I just forgot to use it." There was a shuffling for his wand. "Lumos," his voice whispered so that it was barely audible.
Immediately Lycaon was able to see all of them as well as a little bit beyond. "Is that difficult at all, Remus, or will we be able to use it right now? I think a little more light might be in order."
"No, it's pretty easy. You just say the word 'lumos' and your wand lights up. To turn it off . . . well . . . bear with the darkness again for a moment . . . but you just say, 'nox'." The light went out and then came back with another whispered incantation.
"Alright then, James: why don't you take care of the other light for us? I doubt we'll need five at the moment." Lycaon turned to James who nodded.
"Lumos," the tip of his wand lit up, providing ample illumination.
"You guys are going to want to turn it off when we get out, though," Sirius said. "The last thing we need is to show everyone exactly where we are."
"Good point," James said, continuing down the hall. "I'm sure we'll all be fine without the light when we head towards the tapestry."
"Naturally," Lycaon replied.
Ly listened as their footsteps echoed ever so quietly in the passage. They were a light-footed bunch . . .good, very good. They were actually moving pretty fast through the tunnel. It was about as fast as they dared go lest they accidentally step too heavily. They came soon to the end of the passage: the back of a painting Ly knew to be so grimy you could scarcely see the swamp behind it. Two mutterings of 'nox' were heard and light was lost.
Lycaon stepped forward, she being the one who had found this passage and the only one who knew exactly how to work this entrance/exit. She thrust her right hand forward, feeling stone against it. She slid it across to her left until it met with a tiny lip of wood from the frame. She knelt and pressed a small unconformity in the lower right corner. The painting swung silently, slowly forward, providing them with the dim moonlight that was pouring in through a long row of high windows. Waning moon tonight, she noted absently. They snuck further down the hall and carefully around a corner. They needed only to take a few steps before they were right in front of their second and longest passage.
Lycaon walked forward and held up a corner of the tapestry to show what appeared to be a stone wall. She frowned and put her hand just over it and then went to strike it with her palm only to find that her hand went right through it. It felt like gel of some sort, but her hand wasn't wet when she brought it back and the wall had offered no resistance. She held the tapestry up more, exposing more 'wall' and turned to the others.
"Come on. Just go through, it's not really a wall." She hissed for the benefit all but Pete as he had been the one to find this labyrinth of a passage by somehow managing to fall into the tapestry.
There came a few nods and everyone put their wands away. James pushed his hand along the wall to find where actual rock ended then jumped in with ease and agility; Sirius managed almost as well; Pete clambered in with more than a little help from two pairs of disembodied hands but quickly all the same; Remus felt out the wall and then stuck his knee into it and was helped up by the hands as well; and Lycaon stood between the tapestry and the wall then used a little jump-momentum to get herself into the passage along with the help the disembodied hands offered.
Once inside she found it was pitch dark. "I'll take care of the light for a little while. Can somebody help me?" She spoke into the darkness, taking out her wand. "Lumos," She said, then shielding her eyes and slowly adjusting them to the light.
"I will." Peter said. "I need to show us where to go anyway. I'm the only one who knows which ways to turn."
"We have to do something about that one day," James said as Peter cast his lumos which shuddered for only a moment before stabilizing. "It's not that I don't trust you guys to remember these things, it just might be easier to plan and all if we had it written down."
"We can work on that soon," Sirius replied from James' right. "Right now I don't want to worry about it."
"Then let's go have some fun. Care to lead us, Pete?" He turned to the shorter boy, whom he had formerly had his back to.
"Sure thing, James," Peter said with a grin and turned, walking quickly down the passage.
They walked on in silence for quite a while, Peter and his light leading the way, and Lycaon and her light bringing up the rear so that they wouldn't get lost at any point. Peter seemed to know exactly where he was going. There were several points where the passage split in three different directions but Peter didn't hesitate once. Countless times a passage suddenly branched off from the side but Pete always knew whether or not to take them. And he says he has a bad memory! The echo of their footsteps lasted much longer than usual in this honeycomb of passages and Lycaon listened to that as they went on. Just as the echoes were becoming less interesting to Ly, they came to what appeared to be a dead end.
"You can turn out your light, Ly." Peter called softly down the line. "It's another tapestry on the other side," he jerked his thumb behind him. "So I'll go out first and hold it up. You guys just jump right through." He then turned out his light, squatted down, and appeared to fall through the wall.
Lycaon watched as James, Sirius, and Remus exited then turned out her light and followed. She nodded to them and motioned for them to move forward once in the hall. James took lead again and brought them as quietly as possible into the charms hall. Lycaon winced every time someone stepped loudly, even though to anyone not sneaking around the sound would hardly be perceptible. When the lot of them reached the next tapestry, Lycaon was relieved to be informed by Sirius and James that all you had to do was kick the wall in the right place and it parted like cloth. They demonstrated this quickly and everyone entered into the passage. The wall closed up behind them and Sirius and Remus decided they'd take care of the light for now.
Now all they had to do was enjoy themselves. The moon and stars, and the wind in the trees, and no one to tell them what they could and couldn't do . . . a spurt of energy ran through Ly at the thought and produced one of those impulsive, non-sensible, and possibly dangerous ideas that seem like a good idea at the time but—as authoritative figures are happy to inform you—really, truly were not.
A wide grin split on her face.
"Hey, Sirius," she whispered, walking right beside him, "I'll race you to the end passage." He gave her a look that clearly stated disbelief and impressed the notion of 'are you absolutely out of your head?' She just smiled and looked ahead. "Of course, if you're afraid of getting caught you can say no, but I just though it'd be fun . . ."
"You're on," He growled. Oh yes, she had said the magic word that, when appropriately applied, could get you anything you wanted from an egotistical Gryffindor: afraid. "On the count of three: one . . . two –"
"Three!" She cried and fled down the tunnel that, luckily, didn't branch off.
"Cheater!" She heard Sirius call from not far behind her.
She laughed and sped on, letting the running engulf her. She'd hardly be able to breathe when she stopped, maybe, but it was so much fun right then—in the moment. Endorphins and adrenaline were mixing beautifully to create the most exhilarating feeling one can get and the sound of air rushing past her drowned out everything else. Thought and fear and confusion disappeared into the lactic acid fermentation in her muscles. She was dimly aware of Sirius not at all far behind her and the light from his wand allowing her as much vision as one can have at such speeds. Very suddenly she came to the end of the passage and—in an attempt to stop before running straight into it—she put herself off balance and fell over, causing Sirius to fall as well in his attempt not to run over her.
There was a loud 'oomph' and a great deal of laughing and they gradually collected themselves enough to sit against the wall of the passage and wait for the other to get there. Not surprisingly, they got there not long after with a similarly unsurprising flush to their faces from deciding to catch up the quick way.
"Took you long enough," Sirius said with a roguish grin. "Now," He stood up, "let's get to that forest, shall we?"
"Sure," James said with a smile. "May I have the honors?"
"Go ahead," Sirius gestured to the wall with that grin still plastered to his face.
James strutted forward and kicked the second stone up furthest to the left. They watched as the stones all repositioned themselves to look as though they had been laid to create a passage coming out of the side of the castle. Lycaon was just happy that this made minimal noise. As soon as the stones had settled Lycaon looked back at the others and grinned just before making a mad dash to the edge of the forest. She caught onto a tree to stop from running into another one and allowed her momentum to swing her around it once before stopping and watching the others. James ran out next, then Remus, then Peter, and then Sirius. Now, it was time to romp, gambol, and generally maraud in that forest for all the fun it had to offer them.
...
The sky was just turning from near-black to more of a cerulean as the group headed through the first of their passages before reaching the commons. Fatigue was only beginning to set in for Lycaon, even though they'd been running around for hours and she had a tear in the left leg of her jeans. She would be able to mend it, even though it would be a rather rough mending. It wasn't like she was ever going to wear them anywhere it mattered. They walked the entire way this time but managed to finish in good time. Sirius kicked the necessary stone and the wall became like a curtain, pulling back, and showing them the empty hall. It was an eerie sight to behold in the growing light. Suddenly Ly felt a little more insecure about being out in the halls and a little of that paranoia from earlier was coming back. Actually, more or less all of that paranoia was coming back. However, as a Gryffindor, it doesn't matter if you're scared out of your ruddy mind so long as you don't show it. The term by which they live their lives is 'bravado'.
Luckily, everything was going smoothly. Everyone was quiet – flushed and still pumped with all manner of adrenaline, but quiet – and the passages were easily accessed. They used the illumination charm in the passages and, naturally, turned it out when they exited. At least until they reached the dirty swamp painting and Lycaon pressed an unconformity that was hidden from vision by it's placement on the underside of the frame. There were carelessly loud footsteps coming from a nearby passage and they all seemed to go a little paler. Lycaon pulled the painting backwards instead of waiting on its usually slow pace. Her mind was a flurry of unidentifiable color and motion at this point and there was only the tangible left to rely on. Do or die.
"Go!" She hissed into James' ear—he being the nearest—and then pushed him forward. She looked at Remus with impatience and he took that as his cue and hurried in, Pete and Sirius not far behind. How in Merlin's name was her heart managing to beat so fast? She jumped up the foot or so and grabbed the painting by its frame, pulling in quickly shut behind her with both the footsteps and her heartbeat getting louder. She pulled as much as she could without crushing her fingers and drew her hands back quickly, allowing it to shut the rest of the way by itself. She heaved a sigh of relief and permitted her self to slide against the wall and sink down onto the floor to recover. She heard the footsteps get even louder and then gradually fade away as the five waited with baited breath. Finally, she stood up and put her hands on her hips, shaking her head. Remus and James had already seen to the light.
"Who in Merlin's name was that?" James' voice sounded irritated and even disapproving. "It's got to be about three in the morning!"
"I know, mate, I know." Sirius said shaking his head and clapping his hand on James' shoulder. "That was awfully close."
"We'd have been in a really mess if those footsteps weren't so loud." Remus commented.
"D'you suppose it was the caretaker?" Pete asked.
"Most likely," Lycaon said. "I doubt the teachers would be stomping about right now. They have classes to teach tomorrow, after all. Besides, no student would make that much noise: they'd be to afraid to get caught."
"Like us?" Remus smiled.
"Well," James sighed, "shall we just move on, then? I don't think standing here is going to help anything."
"True, true," Sirius nodded and walked onwards after James had. They all fell into line with Remus pulling up the rear this time.
From there on they were very careful in listening before they exited a passage and quick to get to the next, and they managed to get back to the commons without incident. At the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lycaon only found fit that she should take care of things.
"Hey," Lycaon whispered and poked the painting.
"Wh-what? Who's there? What's the password?" Sleep slurred the painting's speech.
"Canis Lupus," Lycaon said.
"Alright, then," The portrait sighed. "But, honestly, you should pick more decent times, young lady. What do you do at such hours?"
"Nothing that an old, worn piece of canvas like you would care about," she shot sharply.
"Well, aren't you a pleasant child?" The Fat Lady sneered, giving Lycaon a terrible look but allowing them passage all the same.
"You know, Ly," Sirius said quietly as they entered the common. "If you keep acting like that to her, she might squeal."
"We'll just have to hope for the best then, won't we?" She smirked. "Good night, boys." She addressed them all with a nod and then headed quietly up for her dorm.
As quiet as a mouse, she slipped into the gap she'd left in the door, closed in gently and made her way to her bed. She changed into her pajamas("pain in the arse", she grumbled), stuffing her jeans and sweater under her pillow, and then crawling under her covers to get what little sleep she could before morning. She'd probably be dead to the world all day as it was, and she didn't need to worsen the situation. It has definitely been an eventful day here at Hogwarts, she mused shortly, and many more to come.
...
Week upon week upon week washed over the first years and eventually they stopped counting anything but how many more days till the weekend. Wands and the instinct to carry them everywhere had become perfectly ordinary. If any student didn't know their schedule down to a tee, they must be exceptionally thick, and quite a few things had become staples in their lives. On Mondays and Thursdays, Lycaon Saer would invariably get kicked out of Potions for calling Professor Kinnison by his first name of 'Peyton'. By the end of the week Sirius Black, James Potter, and Lycaon Saer had managed to lose at least fifteen points and get into at least one potentially serious scrape, only to smooth-talk their way out of it. Add to this that they had managed to get into at least one fight each month with one or more of the Slytherins. In short: they were making quite a reputation for themselves and it was only mid-October.
Understandably, Peter and Remus tended to stay out of trouble. Their moments of misbehavior were the ones that no one ever found out about. The only times they broke the rules were in the times that—though they would have brought quite a reputation to the group if anyone ever found out—were strictly personal moments between the five of them. Indeed, there did seem to be that air of recklessness and bonding every time they escaped the monotony of school to run wild in the forest. Lycaon knew that every time she went out there, the scent of the increasingly chilly night air was being locked into her memory and every time that fragrance met her in the future, her heart would ache for these times when she was in the Forbidden Forest, doing what children do, with her friends. Those were the moments you remember when you're old and gray and your life is spent. Those are the days you look back on and wish you were young again.
Lycaon loved every minute of her life at Hogwarts. Even when she was arguing with Sirius—destined to loose because sheer stubbornness knows no logic—she loved it. She'd never had anyone to argue with! Her family had always just assumed she was quiet and reserved and left it at that. Everything was so much better here. Her life at home was neglectful compared to this. She felt so important these days. Sure, not everyone liked her but since when had that ever mattered? They knew her, and she doubted they'd be forgetting her anytime soon.
As time elapsed, it also became a staple in life that Remus Lupin would go to visit his mother for 2 to 4 days every now and then. Her illness, he told them, flared up when they least expected it to and it had the family on edge constantly.
On the other hand, Ly was absolutely amazed at how quickly she could forget the little things about her life at home. A loving father and mother, an annoying little sister who was still only a toddler, and the cat that loved to curl up at the foot of her bed were all she really remembered. Faintly, as in a dream, she could picture her bedroom and the kitchen, and, with little effort, she could see her parents as though she was looking right at them. Really, it was an almost perfect home she remembered, even if she didn't get any special attention or have any friends. A happy family just like the ones on the 'television' her parents, with their love of 'technology', had bought. Sure, her childhood had been a little . . . horrifically bad, but that was no fault of her parents'. How could they know? They probably didn't want to believe anything was wrong . . .Yet somehow, though she had no specific memories to contradict this, she knew that this ideal family couldn't really be how it was. Could it?
Ideals just didn't happen. Example:
Lily Evans had shown her self as a very clever young witch with considerable power. Also, she was a book worm. She was very popular within the first years, but Merlin did she ever enjoy class too much for her own good! She was always so eager to answer questions or be on the professors' good sides. Even the biased potions master, who just happened to be the Slytherin head of house, liked her. She, however, looked down upon Lycaon, James, and Sirius like nothing else. They were trouble-makers—ruffians, she had even called them once—that she didn't want to associate with. She wanted nothing to do with James these days as she figured Ly's word wasn't worth as much as she had first guessed it was. Maybe one day she'd jump off her high-horse and realize what a stick in the mud she was being, but Ly wasn't holding her breath. It was such a shame, actually. Lily had seemed like a rather nice girl at first, but, her studies obviously came first.
All the same, life seemed to have a knack for sorting itself out.
Mary and Peter got on well enough; neither widely accepted as interesting or beneficial company to have. James and Sirius were the best of friends that ever could be, and if ever they had a problem, they were more likely to go to each other than anyone else in the world. They were always on the same wavelength, and, despite all the trouble they caused, they were intensely popular. Perhaps even because of it. Amy and Ly had gotten to be better friends, but Amy was normally much quieter; too quiet for Lycaon. However, it was nice to know she had someone for 'girl talk', even if she didn't have much intention that sort of thing. It was just nice to have someone to fall back on.
More likely than not, though, Ly found it easier to ask Remus for help if she was in a bind. He was good at helping her with essays and he wouldn't make fun of her for being fallible. He was easy to be around and that made it much easier to swallow the suggestions he gave for completing essays or potions better. Lycaon had a wonderful talent for words; it was just that her essays tended to end up as rants more than factual reports. Then she didn't take the criticism well and matters were only exacerbated . . . And as for potions . . . She was just rubbish at that and there was no way around it.
She had trouble following the detailed instructions precisely. It wasn't even that she would skip steps . . . most of the time. It was more that she would add—or fail to add—just enough of some stupid ingredient to completely botch it. In everything else she could apply enough raw magic and will power to get it right, but not in Potions. No, never in stupid, bloody Potions! More than once Professor Kinnison had threatened to inform her parents of her 'insubordination' if she didn't start 'applying herself more fully' because, obviously, she could do this as she was 'such a brilliant student' in her other classes. At that point however she would respond with, "really, Peyton; I don't see why you're so upset. I just can't throw magic at a potion to make it, is all. That's the only way I get by anywhere else." This, of course, made Peyton Kinnison sigh heavily and dismiss her to 'wherever it is you go'.
One class that Lycaon, James, and Sirius all loved, though, was their Flying Lesson. Sure, they didn't get it often, and sure, they had it with the Slytherins, but that only made it easier to get into fights with them. Ly had her natural reflexes and physical abilities to at least make her passable, Sirius had some serious potential, but James . . . he was brilliant! He'd practically been raised on a broomstick and it definitely showed. He zoomed around the quidditch pitch faster than anyone else and could turn on a pin.
Peter's broom would always roll over half-heartedly instead of flying into his hand, and Remus, they learned, was deathly afraid of heights. One thing that Ly found interesting, though, was the boy she had re-named Snivellus. He was normally very quiet, more than a little awkward, and amazing in potions and DADA (knowing more or less every dark spell on the face of the planet), but he persisted harder than any of the other no-talents to fly.
During one Flying Lesson his broom actually rose—reluctantly though it was—to his hand. Lycaon thought he might wet himself for joy. However, he was a Slytherin, and, she had to admit that—however much she might dislike them—Slytherins did not typically wet themselves. Instead, he gingerly mounted the broom and sat down, kicking off the ground as hard as his scrawny legs could. His broom soared eagerly over everyone's head in miraculous display.
Some people, however, are not very lucky by nature.
Suddenly his broom seemed to shudder, as though it suddenly realized who it carried. Snivellus went even paler than normal, looking down. Actually, he looked vaguely green . . . He closed his eyes and then reopened them, urging his broom forward. It jerked forward and to the left. Everyone's eyes were transfixed. He tried again, and his broom swooped to the ground so quickly that all he could do was turn an even greener shade of pallor while a few of the girls shrieked and the instructor watched in horror. Less than a foot from the ground it swooped back up and Snivellus' toes swept over the longer blades of grass. Snivellus tried again to control the broom properly, obviously hoping he wouldn't overreach like before. He began to descend slowly while still moving forward. He took off his right hand to wipe his brow and sigh with relief but forgot to make sure the pressure would remain even.
The broom swung around and dove straight at the class, all of whom were watching from a crowd on the ground. More screams could be heard from the girls and even a few boys. Lycaon and James, who had landed to watch, kicked off sharply as others darted away on foot. The young instructor Madame Hooch, unfortunately, did not move sufficiently out of the way. It was a wonder the poor woman hadn't been impaled. Instead, the broom seemed to loose its spirit upon impact, ending the wild ride at last.
Madame Hooch was, of course, reluctant to let him ride again to say the least.
Snape himself? He was still determined to ride. Perhaps this was where the Slytherin ambition came in. All the same, Lycaon didn't see much for his future in quidditch. He was awkward enough on the ground, but on a broom, in the air? . . . It was just painful. The boys, of course, found this to be a wonderful thing to poke fun at. The boys, in this case, being James and Sirius.
"Oy, Snivellus! Why don't you just give up? You're hopeless on a broom." James jeered.
"Or perhaps he should brew himself up a potion to give him some skill. He does seem to be so good in Potions," Sirius joined.
Lycaon stood off to the side. It wasn't that she was a better person, it wasn't that she didn't find it funny, and it wasn't that she didn't get a kick out of crushing someone's self-esteem under her thumb . . . it was just that something about this was too familiar. Where had she seen this before? Had she done this before? Yes . . . but she had been on the receiving end. So that was why her stomach felt like someone had poured boiling water in it and her vision was clouding. No, no flashback for me, thank you very much, she thought shaking her head jerkily. Then she noticed that old Snivelly's lips were moving even though she was too far away to hear.
"What was that, Sev? I couldn't hear." Sirius leaned casually with his elbow on James' shoulder as a prop.
"I said," Snivellus' voice gained volume and intensity, "that some of us have to give some effort and dedication to things."
"I should say you do," James muttered, causing Sirius and himself to break into wild laughter.
Snivelly's face turned red, but whether from anger or humiliation Ly couldn't say. However, she was betting on a combination. If James and Sirius weren't laughing so loudly then they would have lost that verbal spar. Old Sev had said 'dedication' with just the right emphasis to get across that he felt they had none, which was partially true. But of course, the boys didn't care. Remus and Peter were standing far, far somewhere else . . . maybe she should go find them. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea. Surprisingly, she didn't feel like hanging out with James and Sirius and the moment. Normally she was as keen as anything to prank with them or spend time near Sirius. Yes, she had a crush on him, for all his uneducated stubbornness. It wasn't much, and it didn't interfere with the way she acted around him, but it was there—annoyingly, flutteringly—it was there. Damned emotions, her head-voice spat coarsely. Heaven only knew that emotions hadn't gotten her anywhere in the past. Resolution and cleverness were all that had ever helped her. Unfortunately though, resolution and cleverness didn't make Sirius any less cute. Damned genetics and mannerisms.
(James' POV)
The gang had just finished supper when they entered the common room to find it fuller than they had ever seen it. It was rather intimidating. The air was chill, Madame Pince's head cold had made her even more irritable than usual, and with the Potions Master's love of Gryffindors . . . there was plenty of work and play, all being done in the common room.
"What do you say we go up to the dorm?" Remus suggested.
"Good idea," James nodded, starting to make his way to the staircase.
"Oh, so you're just going to abandon me to the wilds?" Lycaon placed her fists on her hips in a way that, if it wasn't vaguely amusing, might have been intimidating.
"Well, I suppose you could come up with us," Sirius said.
"I haven't heard any rules against it," Remus added.
"Since when has that stopped me?" She followed the bee line they were quickly making to the Boys' Dormitories.
"Point taken," Remus said almost gloomily, making Ly laugh.
When they at last made their way through the crowd James heard something he knew might end very badly.
"Lycaon Amarantha Saer, where do you think you're going?" Crystal Henley asked a little too sweetly.
"Why Buckingham palace of course," She answered innocently. Relief spread through the boys. No cat-fight.
Sirius went up the stairs quickly, avoiding further argument, and the others followed. James was just happy they'd managed it. Was it so much to ask that Ly didn't start rivalries within the house? Sure, Crystal could be a little catty and nosy; it didn't mean they had to fight as often as they did. It seemed like they were always arguing about something. Unlike Lily . . . Lily never argued like that or got catty. Sure, she seemed to hate James and his friends, but that's just because she was dedicated to her school work.
The gang wasn't dedicated to anything but laughing until their sides ached.
She always gave them the dirtiest looks when they poked fun at Snivellus or were being dragged away by their ears for starting another fight with the Slytherins. Other girls giggled and swooned, but Lily glared. And when James was going his most fantastic speeds during Flying Lessons, the other girls gasped and screamed and cheered, but he'd always catch a glimpse of Lily scrunching up her face in distaste, and then turning back to a book. Why was Lily Evans so hard to impress? Further more, why did he bother anymore when plenty of other girls thought he was a god? Okay, so it was just the one Ravenclaw that actually thought he was a god, but the others liked him just fine.
"James!" He was hit sharply on the top of his skull. "What by Merlin's beard is distracting you? Sit down already!" Lycaon yanked him down onto Pete's bed where she was already sitting.
"Ten Galleons says he was thinking about Miss I'm-too-good-for-the-rest-of- the-world Evans," Sirius grumbled.
"No one's betting against you on that," Remus replied, lying on his stomach on his own bed.
"Am I that obvious?" James asked miserably.
"Just predictable," Ly said. "So, why don't you tell us about the latest woe and worry?"
"It's just . . . why do I bother?"
"That's what we've been trying to figure out for weeks." Sirius was by this time lounging on his bed like some variety of big-cat.
"The thing is, plenty of other girls like me, so why do I bother with the one? It doesn't make any sense."
"Well, Mate," Sirius repositioned himself, "it's like this: you like Lily Evans and there's no way around it. She wants nothing to do with you, but that might change someday—in the distant future, of course. In the meantime, it's alright that you like her, and care about whether or not she likes you. However," Sirius paused for emphasis, "it's also perfectly alright for you to not worry about it and to not neglect your . . . er . . . fan girls."
"Fan girls?" James gave him a doubtful look.
"Well, yeah," Ly reinforced from beside him, "that's what they are. I know of about half a dozen that practically idolize you. And in case you didn't catch the message Sirius was trying to send—which by the look on your face, you didn't—he's basically saying that you should feel free to date other girls, regardless of however you might feel about Lily."
"But-But-But then she'll think I like them more!" James felt panic rising within him.
"Don't be a baby, James." Sirius rolled his eyes.
"James, she knows you're crazy about her; she just doesn't like you," Remus said as kindly as he could.
"But I can change her mind," he insisted.
Silence.
"Not in this lifetime you can't, mate," Sirius' voice was quiet.
"Pete?" He looked at the chubby boy sitting beside Remus.
"I'm sorry, James, but . . . I agree with Sirius. You're so popular and most of the Professors like you even if you do get into a lot of trouble . . . you need to deal with the fact that she's going to have to come around by herself, but . . . I don't think that's going to happen too soon." Peter stared at his feet as he had the entire time.
"Well, thank you all for being so supportive," James fumed, glaring around the room. He jumped off the bed, intending to storm out and off somewhere for a few hours.
However, Ly stopped him.
She grabbed his wrist and jerked him hard, pulling him off balance and causing him to land flat on his arse. "Don't be such a brat," she snapped. "You know we're just telling you the truth."
"That doesn't make it any easier to swallow," he muttered.
"Who told you it would?"
James looked up at her, her brows knit and her mouth twisted in to a sneer . . . and all he could do was smile.
(Sirius' POV)
Sirius walked through the halls, running an errand that Ly should have been doing herself. Why, by Merlin's beard, can't she get her own ruddy books from the library? She had said that Madame Pince was still angry at her for throwing a copy of 'Moonstone is Poppycock' at a 3rd year Slytherin while still in the Library when she was supposed to be writing a thesis statement on why she so strongly objected to the things that the author had written. She was just stupid for mentioning her distaste of the book in an essay. It had become obvious by the second week of school that the Potions Master held that book above the Bible. She really needed to learn how to guard her tongue.
Something knocked him harshly against one of the castle's stone walls from where he proceeded to fall to the floor. He looked up—ignoring the fact that 'A Million and Two Habits of the Niffler' had slid all the way across the hall—to see none other than one of his most beloved cousins staring down at him.
Ri-ight.
Bellatrix Black wasn't anyone's beloved anything.
"My, my, Sirius, you must watch where you're going. Some people won't respond so well. Actually, come to think of it, I'm not responding well. So tell me, Sirius: are you still afraid of the dark? Or maybe I should just beat you senseless and send you back to your friends as an example. You and those other blood traitors do seem to so love damaging the precious first years from Slytherin." The girl that shared very similar age and looks gained a wistful expression.
"Bugger off, Bellatrix. Do you enjoy being a disagreeable old cow?"
"Do you enjoy being an obstreperous child?"
"You know, I just might be offended if I had any clue what you just said." He stood up as Bellatrix made a small, disgusted noise in her throat. "It was lovely seeing you, dear Cousin," he remarked sarcastically, turning to walk away.
"I just thought you should know," she said icily, thrusting her arm in front of him to bar his way, "that your parents are being informed of every move you make through Narcissa, Lucius, and I—and we're just the ones I know of. I do know, however, that Andromeda," the name was said distastefully, "dear sister of mine that she is, refuses to 'infringe on your childhood' by 'forcing you to higher standards' or some rot like that. She's a disgrace to the name really." The girl tossed long black hair over her shoulder and stared down the hall with eyes like his mothers'.
"Why in Merlin's name are you warning me?"
"Don't be stupid, boy," she hissed. "Do you honestly think I enjoy the fact that my parents are stealing my future so that I can marry a pureblood and have good, respectable heirs? I'm sorry, Sirius, but some of us have something called 'ambition'."
"Ambition, dedication, that's all I hear!" He yelled. "Well you know what? I don't need either of them! They can't make me do anything I don't bloody well want to, anyway! But," he stopped just before he intended to launch into a rant, "thank you for the warning." He gave a swift nod and then strode off, picking up the book as elegantly as possible, and moving on without a word.
Quite frankly, his cousins were beginning to piss him off. Tattling on him left and right and throwing him filthy looks whenever possible . . . it was so . . . disheartening? Why did he care?
Author's Note: Still in renovation stage. At any rate . . . having fun? MORE IS ON THE WAY!
R&R! 3