HI! Hello world of amazing readers and writers. I come in peace *ducks before incoming tomato can hit face*. Right, first of all, I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED FOR SO LONG! Life caught up with me, and I've been itching to complete this chapter, but didn't have time. So my updates might not be as frequents as before, but I certainly will try to do it as soon as possible. I love you for sticking with me, and those nice comments urging me to update really fast forwarded the process. xoxo
CURSED CHILD WAS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! I loved it, I loved it, I loved it, I loved it, I loved it, I loved it, I loved it! I found the second part better than the first, but I haven't seen the play, and I don't think I will be able to *sobs*.
Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to update now because I know that the next time I will be able to update is the week after the next or so. Also, go check out my one shot on Lucy Weasley, I tried to experiment with second person and I think it turned out really good.
I am also now officially on Wattpad! It seemed that a lot of my friends, and friends' friends used it more often than this site, so I will be updating at the same time as I update here . The link is also in my profile, but here you go!
user/StardustandSnitches
I've also updated my profile, so if you want to know more about me (sure, keep dreaming Snitch), you can read it there!
Anyways, sorry for the long author's note, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to follow, favourite and review. xoxo
The Marauders were strangely quiet for the next few weeks. They did miserably in all their classes, never saying the incantation out loud, but they actually did some of their homework on time to regain some points (probably with Remus' encouragement).
Potter was still asking me out in the weirdest of ways, including charming ribbons to spell out my name and draping them on the walls. He never seemed sincere, it always looked like he was doing for the laughs. Besides, I had seen him flirting with girls left, right and centre, so I didn't even feel compelled to say yes to him. He was an arrogant prick, hexing people every time I saw him, and Severus' loathing for him deepened even further when he was hoisted into the air by the ankle while walking to Potions with me.
Speaking of whom, I had forgiven him for acting like my owner. After all, he wasn't very good at expressing his feelings, and he had the best intentions in mind. We had resumed our friendship, though a small part of me still resented him, much to the disapproval of Mary, Evangeline, the Marauders and just about everyone Gryffindor. I shrugged off their stares, why should I sacrifice an amazing friendship for their happiness?
It was a windy night, but not a single cloud could be seen. The stars, however, shined brilliantly against the dark backdrop, each one looked like a different priceless stone in its own special place the sky. Mary and I stood still against the railing, admiring their beauty, until Professor Lucretia Black snapped at us to go back to our work. Mary drifted off to the opposite end of the tower under the pretence of speaking to Remus. I watched her walk her away a little sadly. She had grown more distant over the last month, and I did not know what to do. I turned away when I received a tap on the shoulder.
Eliza and I were on good terms as we had shared a room for the past four years, but we weren't really the closest of friends. This is why I was confused when she pulled me aside during that Wednesday night Astronomy, just when I was in the middle of mapping Venus.
"Lily! Oh Godric, I haven't spoken to you at all these past few weeks! Clarissa's been dealing with some crap from some of her other friends lately, so she's feeling quite bad, and I've been helping her out. Anyways, how's your life going? Are you secretly dating James Potter?" she jested enthusiastically.
"Yes, we haven't really spoken. Oh, poor her. Fine really. Merlin NO, not at all," I listed, mentally praying I didn't mess up the last two, "Are you excited for your date with Black?"
"Well, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. See, I'm not too sure-"
She was cut off by Professor Lucretia Black, who taught us Astronomy.
"For Salazar's sake, you disgusting dunderheads have absolutely corrupted my poor nephew. Oh, what a fine boy he could've turned out to be… Instead he wants to be with someone like you," she sniffed.
I was about to open my mouth in defence of us Gryffindors, but Eliza beat me to it,
"Ma'am, I seemed to have mapped Mars wrong, because judging by its position, it will bring great doom to a bespectacled scrawny bigot who happens to be standing beside me. There must be some mistake! Surely you aren't scrawny, quite the opposite in fact,"
There was a collective gasp from the people in our vicinity, and I was frantically tugging her hand to tell her to shut her big mouth. Didn't she understand that she was only making the situation worse?
The professor regarded her with cool grey eyes, her slender frame regal, "Miss Keddle, I suggest you open your blind eyes before discussing matters your puny mind cannot comprehend. 30 points from you, and a detention tomorrow night. You will be clean the railing of this tower, without magic. Am I made clear? Also, that isn't Mars, fool, it's a star. Your abysmal mapping skills can only serve you to jump off a cliff," she tutted and walk away, leaving us flabbergasted.
Eliza stared wistfully in Black's direction, as if she wanted him to jump to her defence. But he was only smirking at Potter, and scribbling notes to Pettigrew and Remus. I hadn't seen much of Pettigrew lately, apparently he was ill, so I had dismissed it easily. Black paid no heed to her, and so she glared at the teacher, and muttered some profanities under her breath out of her earshot.
Evangeline was being relentlessly annoyed by Ravi Patil, who seemed to have made it his mission to get her to lighten up. Ravi was actually very attractive, and had olive skin and big brown eyes that made girls swoon. He was the type of boy you would find watching fireworks or sneaking out of the castle just for the fun of it. Evangeline had the looks of British nobility, with pale skin and high arched eyebrows. She wasn't really the stereotypical Ravenclaw, but had a strong distaste for breaking the rules. So strong that she refused to ask the house elves for food even when we accidentally skipped dinner once, saying that 'the poor buggers have enough to cook already, and besides, we aren't even allowed to be here!'
We were lounging on the plush couch in the Ravenclaw common room. It was the day before Halloween, and Potter had opened his big fat mouth and was jabbering my ear off faster than a Jarvey. I had finally escaped to Evangeline's common room along with Mary, and we were admiring the stunning view through the floor-to-ceiling windows from a very comfortable spot on the sofa. Sure, students weren't technically allowed to be others' common rooms, but no one really cared enough to complain. That is, until Matilda Clearwater, a seventh year prefect, screamed at us from the top of the girls' staircase.
"SHHHH…" the entire Ravenclaw house whispered collectively and went back to their business, which included trading chocolate frog cards, generally talking or reading a book. I watched fascinatedly as a third year reading a book on weird hexes managed to make a boy spout bubbles whenever he tried to speak, much to his annoyance and her amusement.
Evangeline noticed our puzzled expressions, and gave a tinkling laugh, "We do that because no one really likes Clearwater, but won't say it to her face, and since everyone thinks we're a bunch of nerds who never speak and study the whole day, we decided to play to their expectations." She was still grinning like mad and I felt one creep on to my face, but her smile was suddenly replaced with a glare.
"Ohh Evaaangelinee," floated in Ravi Patil's singsong voice, "Darling, we aren't studying are we?" he said in mock terror, his hand clutching at his heart, wand out and ready to incendio her parchment and quill, and for good measure, the entire Hogwarts Library. Oh no, strike that. He wouldn't give the library for all the Galleons in the world.
"Ravi dear, I have a social life that doesn't include homework. Speaking of which, don't you have to meet in the library with Kiara Kapoor, that sixth year?" Evangeline taunted.
"Right you are, love! See you, and I don't want you to study today!" he bounded off, and I sent an amused grin towards her direction.
"He's been on my case since summer, and that wasn't even the worst of it!" she rubbed her forehead, and Mary and I exchanged grins.
"Oh, shut it, you both! Oh, do you think Remus will ask Mary to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" she tactfully diverted the conversation, and we began gossiping about them.
I returned to the Common Room an hour before curfew alone, as Mary had gone to talk to Remus in the library. Not wanting to witness their awkwardness, I took off on my own. My footsteps echoed around me, the only source of light being the silver torches, burning brightly like small stars. But the silence seemed oppressive and crushing, my gentle quick paced steps reflecting my heartbeat. The towers were a long way from each other, and no one was around during this hour. I understood why Dumbledore wanted us to walk with someone else, it seemed like every creak was a Death Eater's stride, and every whoosh was the sound of an Avada Kedavra brushing past my ear.
Black was sitting on the armchair closest to the fire, his back towards me. I crept past him, hoping to avoid a confrontation, but Black called out,
"Oi Evans! Sneaking out this late on your own? A striking lass such as yourself shouldn't be without the company of us brave knights in such dark and dangerous times!" he bellowed, mocking Sir Cadogan, a portrait on the seventh floor. Even so, his voice seemed tired and slightly hollow, as if he was just doing this for habit's sake.
"Without your sidekick Black? Aren't you two joined at the hip or something?"
"He's sleeping upstairs actually. He needs his beauty sleep," he grimaced as he made a weak attempt at a joke.
I took the armchair in next to him, my curiosity and sympathy piqued by his pensive tone. The speckled warm light from the fire seemed to make the sharp contours of his face grow deeper, and his apparent bags sag more.
"What's wrong, Black? Usually you would have made some rude comment about my arse by now," I asked genuinely, shocking both myself and Black.
His eyes widened but he answered, "Why don't you ask Mary? She'd tell you anyways,"
I didn't really want to ask Mary, because that would lead to a tornado of questions about how I knew in the first place. So I settled for, "Mary has gone off chasing Remus, and she wouldn't tell me someone else's secret. Now, will you tell me or not?" I persisted. I expected him to say no, so I was halfway through standing up when he mumbled, eyes downcast,
"I found Eliza snogging some Hufflepuff in a broom closet,"
Ouch. That was a horrible move on Eliza's part, and I really felt like going and slapping her. I felt a stab of sympathy, "Oh Black, are you sure it was her?"
"Of course Evans, I think I know what my date looks like," he snapped dully, but a spark of fury glimmered in the reflection of the flames in his steely eyes.
Then I realised, "But don't you flirt with anything in a skirt? Maybe she got angry because of that!"
"Then she should have told me something! It's not like she doesn't have the guts to! Also, I didn't snog any one of them! I didn't expect her to be such a devious bint."
I could see where Black was coming from as my outrage grew, but that still didn't excuse him for his lack of tact. I felt slightly lost, and didn't know whose side to take, but I was leaning towards Black's so I decided on a lame pat on the back as I rose out of my chair and headed towards the dormitory, my mind whirring. But then I stopped, turned around at the foot of the staircase, and in a burst of confidence I called out,
"Black! I think you just need to wait till tomorrow, alright? After all, she could have just been jealous of those girls, and this was her weird form of retaliation! I tell you what. Go on that date, have a good time, laugh, snog whatever, but next time, crush on someone who isn't a jealous bird! It's your choice if you want to do this or not, but however odd this may seem, I actually do feel bad for you. Anyways, goodnight."
Black didn't answer, but I saw a small smile on his face as he got up and headed to the boys' dormitories, and I thought to myself, "I may have just befriended Sirius Black."
Thank you for reading, and once again my apologies for not updating and for this short chapter. Don't forget to review, and constructive criticism is appreciated! Until next time, StardustandSnitches. :)